Star Fox, the Ultra Chronicles
by uruturamanzenith
Summary: <html><head></head>A soldier on Earth awaits his sentence on Earth, however, Fate has deemed him fit, for a grander destiny.Now a member of the legendary Star Fox team, James 'Jim' Aaron Howards Jr., discovers within himself, a power, that just may save the universe.</html>
1. Presence of Light

Star Fox: The Ultra Chronicles

Two orphans of fate will meet

and shall combine thier might

So they shall fight the darkness

to put the universe to right

One with the might of the sun

One with the power of the soul

And only when they join together

Will they put the universe to whole

Prophecy foretold by Xetulu the Wise.

Chapter 1

The presence of Light.

He has waited. Waited too long for the motion to be passed. It's already been two freakin' months since the discharge from the service, and they still want him to wait. 'Wait for what?!' he thought angrily. He was a soldier; a killer, but not a murderer. However, for that one instance, he wish he was, just once. He waited in his father's log cabin, just outside of Wasilla, Alaska. It was a hand made, two story home, with two bedrooms, a spacious living room, stocked kitchen, even its own generator. In his room, he watched 'John Carpenter's The Thing', one of his all-time favorites, on his laptop, his pride and joy at the moment. With several gigabytes of memory, it holds all his songs, videos/movies, etc., and having a dozen external hardrives, each with at least a terabyte of memory, well, it just adds to the fun. However, this time, there was little joy to be felt, if any at all. He wondered, if God himself had set up his life, just so he could fall. And, at that precise moment, when the thought occurred, Fate played its hand. He heard a loud whooshing noise, like the sound an engine from a jet would make. He looked out, and saw a flying object flying incredibly close, and crash near his place. He threw on his acu(army combat uniform) top, boots, cap, and holstered his nine-millimeter, and ran out the door. After running for half a mile, he reached the crater. Inside, was an aircraft, unlike any he has ever seen; it looked like a type of fighter, but was too small to be anything from Earth. He got into the crater, and looked into the canopy, and saw a purple/blue shape move. "Hold on, I'll get you out!" he yelled into the cockpit. Using the muscles that God and the Army had given him, he gripped the canopy, and pulled with all his might. It was hot as hell, but that mattered little to him. All that mattered, was saving whoever was in there. "Shit!" he cursed. The canopy won't budge. 'Last option,' he thought. He brought his hands together, raised them high, and swung them as hard as he could an the cracked glass. With a yell, he broke the canopy into shards, and unbuckled the person inside. After carefully pulling him out, carrying him over his shoulders, and setting him on the grass away from the crash site, did he get a good look at the person. "Holy titty-screwin' Christ!" he said under his breath. He had pulled out a fox, a blue, humanoid fox. It had the facial features, ears, and fur of a fox, but had the body of a humanoid, and the curves made him think it was a female. The hair on top was braided over the face, and it was wearing a tiara with an emerald in the center, and was wearing a type of purple jumpsuit. Its eyes fluttered open, and settled its stunning emerald eyes on the nineteen year old boy.

"Who...are you?" It asked in a feminine voice, with a slight English accent.

'Definitely a female', he thought. It looked like it just blushed. "To answer your question, I'm a friend," he said gently. She tried to rise, but he held her still. "Have to make sure you have nothing broken," he said in the same voice.

"I'm perfectly all-ahhh!" she grasped her left knee, and winced. He saw that it was bloodied, and the fabric was torn.

"I'll take you to my place. I have medicine there that can help the pain."

"Thank you, you're very kind." She said. After helping her to her feet, he put one of her arms around his shoulders, and made the walk back. She made a few pained sounds, and winced slightly that made him concerned, but she always looked at him, smiled, and said "I'll be fine," as if reading his mind. He doesn't know why, but he can't shake the feeling that he has seen her from somewhere before. As soon as they made it to his cabin, he opened the door for her, and gently set her down on the sofa. As he ran to the restroom to get the med kit, the alien fox was looking around at its surroundings. There were pictures hung up on log walls, and almost all of them had the young man, and a slightly older looking person, whereas some held two young boys with a man in them all smiling. One in particular caught her eye; it was the young man, and the slightly older one, both in a uniform of some type, smiling at the camera. As soon as the young man returned, he stated to rip open the leg fabric a little, to expose the wound. Then, he added the disinfectant, which sizzled on contact, but painless, cleaned the wound, and bandaged it. "Thank you." she said.

"No problem," he smiled.

"Those pictures," The young man looked behind him, and saw them. He turned his gaze back to her, and slightly shrugged.

"Me, and my brother."

"Are you soldiers?"

"We...were, once."

"What happened?"

"Nothing nice." he said, sullenly.

"Where is he now?" The young man stiffened, and she could feel it. "What's wrong?" she asked, concern in her voice.

"Nothing, he's just not here, that's all," he said, near tears. The fox had a sad looking expression, as if it understood. "Do you have any way of contacting your people?" he asked, changing the subject. She had the look of sudden remembrance, and brought what looked like a wrist watch close to her white canine face.

"Fox, can you read me?"

"Loud and clear, Krystal. Where are you?"

"Somewhere in the gamma sector. Can you home in on this signal?"

"No problem, we'll be right there." When she lowered the communicator, the young man had a very surprised look on his face. "Something wrong?" she asked.

"Y-you said Fox...as in...'Fox McCloud'?"

"Yes, how did you know?"

'No...freaking...way. There is no way, not a snowball's chance in Hell, that the protagonist from one of my favorite childhood video games, actually exists.'

"Who said anything about a video game?" she asked curiously. Of course he recognized her, this was Krystal, _the___Krystal, Star Fox's telepath. "How did you know who I was?" She asked, her head tilting to one side. He stumbled back, and landed on his rear.

"This is happening way too fast." He explained the Star Fox video game genre to Krystal, as best he could, while she stared at him, open-mouthed and wide eyed. He waited for a response, and he got

"I don't even know your name..."

"It's Jim."

"It's very nice to meet you, Jim." She said, batting her eyes. Jim blushed at this. "You have a strong and kind heart. I've only met a few people like that. I'd like to know more about you." She placed her hands on the sides of his face, and stared deeply into his steel grey eyes. He was an open book to her, each memory and emotion a page in a novel that is his life, and she read every word on the pages; his birth, his childhood spent in Japan, his adolescent, first high school love, basic training, deployment to the middle east, even the painful loss of his brother. That one, brought tears to his eyes instantly. She quickly severed the link to his mind, and turned away. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have done that without asking..."

"Done...what?"

"Look through your memories. I made you remember something very painful, and I'm sorry."

"Don't be. In fact, what you did, actually helped. It was like, I could open up freely with you, without any restrictions in place. I could show you anything in my life, and you wouldn't judge me, like most people do." Now, it was Krystal's turn to blush. She turned away, and Jim smiled a bit when he saw a little redness creep into her features. Then, they both heard the sound, like a giant engine was roaring overhead. Jim looked out the window, and recognized the ship immediately; "Great Fox..." he said to himself. "I do believe your friends are here." She limped over to the door, and Jim took her by the arm, helping her out, smiling.

"Thank you," she said, warmly. After helping her out the door, Jim got his first good look at the Great Fox; looking almost exactly like in the game franchise the massive craft sported four large inverted wings, a large base with hangar, and plasma cannons, and the control head attached to a neck-like bridge connected to the base. A port underneath the hangar opened, and two figures were standing in the entrance. Jim recognized them immediately; one was a vulpine like Krystal, except that it was definitely a male, had orange fur, and a small spike of white fur on top.

'Must be Fox,' Jim thought. The other one was a blue bird-of-prey, probably a falcon, who wore, like his partner, a flight vest, work shirt, grey work pants, and boots, 'And that's Falco,' he thought. Fox walked down the ramp, and embraced Krystal in a hug, followed by a kiss.

"Are you alright, Krystal?"

"I'm fine Fox, thanks to Jim, here." Fox turned to see the young soldier in a tan top, acu pants, and tan boots.

"I don't know who you are, but thanks."

"Just doin' my job." said Jim, modestly.

"Of course." He turned to Krystal,

"We should get going."

"In a minute, Fox, there's something I need to do first. I'll meet you inside the ship."

"Alright, but don't take too long." As Fox left, Krystal turned to the human boy. Ever since she first saw him, she had this feeling that, this encounter was not by mere chance, that fate had arranged for them to meet, for a special purpose, and Krystal was determined to find out why she was chosen to be in this boy's life. She made her way, uneasily, to the young man. A few times, she stumbled. When it looked like that she would fall, Jim reached out, and caught her.

"Thank you."

"You're getting real good at saying that," he said smiling. She returned the smile.

"Jim, there's something that, I would like to ask you,"

"You want me to come with you," She looked at him, surprise written all over her face.

"How...did you..."

"I just...knew...that you were going to say that," he said, uncertain.

"And, will you?" He looked from Krystal, to the open gangway, the entry lights inviting him in.

"Maybe...this is my destiny..."

"I'm sure it is." Krystal said, with a smile.

"Then, I will meet my destiny, head on, and no regrets."

"I'm glad." Krystal said, beaming.

"But, what about Fox, and the others?"

"I'll worry about that," she said, still smiling.

"Another thing; I can't fly arwings."

"Fox will show you how. You are an experienced soldier, and we can use another member like yourself," she said, placing her hand on the side of his face. It felt like the softest of cloths. "Is there anything that you need?"

"Yes. Can you hold Fox for awhile?"

"Of course, I can."

"Thanks." Jim ran back inside, ran up the stairs, and packed his duffel bag with a few acu's, civvies, personal effects, and a few mre's(meal ready to eat),'I'll be damned if I'm going to eat intergalactic pet food,' he thought to himself. He then packed his assault pack with his laptop/accessories, including all the external hard drives, and cds/dvds. He then holstered his nine-millimeter, with a full magazine, and three others on stand-by, fully loaded. 'They may have peaceful intentions, but only a fool would go into an unknown area without protection, especially a soldier.' he assured himself. He then picked up the one item he has had since his happy days of living in Japan: the posable action figure of Ultraman, his most cherished hero. He placed it into his assault pack. He made his way downstairs, and nabbed a picture of him and his brother, both in acus, smiling at the camera. He placed it in one of his cargo pockets. He took one last look at his home away from home, and switched off the lights for the final time.

He made his way to where Krystal waited, still standing on the ramp, and was smiling widely when she saw him, carrying his belongings. "All set?" she asked.

"Uh, yeah," he said, a little unsure. Krystal picked this up, immediately, and placed a reassuring arm around the young man's shoulders.

"You'll be fine, trust me." she said, still smiling. Jim has been around the world and back again, but this is the first time that he has ever left it. He helped Krystal up the ramp, who held onto his duffel bag with her left hand, to help steady herself.

"What do you have in here, anyway?" she asked, a slightly amused look on her face.

"Why, think I didn't bring enough?"

"Just the opposite." she said, grinning widely. When they made it inside, there were two rows of seats, like the kind used on military transport planes, used for carrying soldiers. Jim picked a seat, stowed his gear underneath, and pulled out his mp3 player's earbuds from his left shoulder pocket, and listened to 'Keep Holding On', by Avril Lavigne. For some reason, the sound of aircraft engines, mixed with music, always seemed to have a relaxing effect on him. He didn't even hear the voice over the p.a. system, and was soon fast asleep.

The same dream, once again. He is surrounded by shadow. This darkness, however, had an intention, a will, a purpose. And Jim could sense that, some how, this darkness wished him harm. It would seem that he was right, for Jim found it increasingly hard to breathe. Every time he drew a breath, it became harder and harder to breathe normally. It was as if it were trying to smother him. 'If something doesn't happen soon, I'm gonna die here!' he thought, panicking. Then, a miracle happened: A being made of light descended from the darkness, his very glow was the darkness's bane, for the shadow seemed to avoid him at all cost. However, when he raised his arms skyward, his luminescence increased a thousand fold, and the darkness dissipated, like clouds. The being, standing at least fifty feet tall, turned to Jim, who now floated in the white light that was the background. "Who are you?" he asked, his voice full of awe.

"You will soon know, my friend." it said, in a deep, but gentle voice. Then, the luminescence increased once more, and Jim had to shield his eyes against the brilliant light.

When Jim opened his eyes once more, he saw that he was inside the Great Fox, in the same seat that he had taken. He looked next to him, and saw Krystal asleep beside him. He heard a mechanical sounding voice over the p.a. system: "All hands are now free to move about the ship. Repeat, all hands are now free to move about the ship." Jim unbuckled his seat belt, and got up to check on Krystal.

'Sleeping like a baby,' he thought, amusingly. He checked the wound, the bleeding stopped, and the bandage was holding the blood in nicely. 'Good, one less problem for me to worry about,' he thought, relievingly. Krystal stirred, slightly, and said something in a language he did not understand. Then, her eyes started to flutter, then opened. When she saw Jim, she smiled.

"You really are here..."

"Yes, if I recall correctly, you brought me-" she embraced him in a large hug, nearly crushing the life out of him.

"I...had this dream. And, in it, I saw you...and others on your planet, all looking up at me as I left, like I had done something wrong. You looked like, you never wanted to see me, ever again..." It sounded like she was on the verge of tears, and Jim could hear her sniffling a little. He returned the embrace, and she seemed to calm down a bit. When he pulled away to face her, she had tears forming in her pretty green eyes. He smiled at her.

"I could never hate you, not after all you have done for me." She returned the smile, and embraced him even tighter.

"I hope that, you don't. I don't want anything to happen to you, not as long as I am here."

"Krystal, it was only a dream." Jim said, with a laugh.

"Dreams can sometimes predict the future." He let the words sink in, as he remembered the entity of light. He can't shake the feeling that, somehow, he has seen him from somewhere else, but can't figure out where.

"Like I said, I could never hate you, not after all you have done..." Jim said, smiling. She pulled away, and looked at him, eye to eye, as green met grey.

"I'm glad to have a friend like you, Jim," she said, tears in her eyes, and went back to his shoulder.

'Why is she this upset? Did the dream get to her that much?' he thought. Krystal probably did not notice, or probably didn't care to, for she made no comment. 'Or, is it something...deeper...' He decided not to probe further, and let Krystal get whatever it was out of her system. After a few minutes, she stopped. She pulled away, and dried her eyes.

"Thank you," she said.

"For what? All I did was sit here."

"You were here...for me." she replied, smiling. "Come on, let's get you acquainted with the rest of the team," Krystal took Jim by the hand, and led him out of the room, and into a rather large hallway; It was at least ten feet wide, with the cieling at around fifteen feet. there were unmarked doors at various parts, and some with signs on them that he could barely understand. A little ways down, they ran into an aging hare, grumbling to himself.

"Stupid kids, acting like a bunch of kindergarteners." He looked up, and saw the pair move towards him, and smiled. "Krystal, so good to see you. And, who's the new guy?" Jim moved to the position of attention, almost by reflex; eyes straight, legs together, feet at a 45 degree angle, arms straight at his sides, the works.

"Spc. Howards, of the U.S. Armed forces, sir!" Krystal giggled behind her hands, and the senior hare chuckled, leaving Jim to wonder if he did something wrong.

"At ease, soldier. We're on neutral ground, here."

"Sorry, force of habit."

"That's fine, that discipline will be a nice change from the usual riff-raff." the hare replied.

"What do you-"

"You call that a drop-kick!? If I didn't block it, it would've failed on its own!" The voice came from directly behind the door that the hare came out of. The hare winced at the sound of the voice.

"Let me guess, Fox, right?"

"Not quite..." Krystal said, exhasperated.

"Maybe it would connect, if you would stop spamming me, ya freakin' cheater!"

"That's Fox." the hare said. He turned to the young man saying "Good luck, boy. You're about to face the toughest mission of your career. Just remember whatever it was that they taught ya, and you'll probably survive."

"Uhhhhhh, thanks, I guess. I didn't get your name, mister..."

"Call me Peppy, and you're welcome." Peppy strode off, leaving the two alone.

'Four months of combat training didn't prepare me for this,' Jim thought, in dismay. Krystal sensed it, and put a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

"You'll be just fine. If you are unable to, I'll stick up for you." He returned her smile, and both made thier way to the door.

What Jim saw, made him lower his expectations; they were in a rec room of sorts, judging by the two pool tables, jukebox, and large monitor screen, where Falco and Fox seem to focus thier entire attention on. "Wait here, I'll talk to Fox.""Uhm, okay." Jim said, puzzled. As Krystal made her way to the pair, Jim spotted, what looked like to him, a wet-bar. As he made his way to it, he spotted a rather familiar looking frog, wearing a bright red cap, cleaning glasses. 'This has to be Slippy. His profile says that, he's the least capable flyer, but a brilliant engineer. Maybe it could be useful to be his friend,' Jim thought. He reached the bar, and the amphibian's bug eyes looked like they were about to launch from his skull when he saw Jim.

"Who are you? Never seen you here , before."'

'Oh, God, he's more annoying in real life, than in the game.'

"My name is Jim," he said, with a friendly grin.

"I saw you walk in here with Krystal. Are you a friend of hers?"

"Something like that."

"Well, what'll it be?"

"Huh?"

"What's your poison?" Slippy asked, leaning on an arm.

"Oh, uh, just a water'll be fine."

"Water? Ah, that's for lowlifes. Since your friends with Krystal, have an ale." He handed Jim a condensationing mug of pale yellow liquid, that had a little bit of foam. "I'm nineteen, though,"

"So, drinking age is eighteen." He could tell he was going to like it here. Jim took the mug, and brought it to his lips. He noticed that it had a tangy flavor to it.

"A little different from my father's brand, but the feel is the same," he said after tasting it.

"So, where ya from?" Slippy asked, while cleaning a glass.

"The Sol system, a planet named Earth."

"Really? Hey, is it true that you still use nuclear fission for power?"

"Sometimes, though we have opted to find alternative energy sources."

"Let's see if I got this straight, you brought an unknown alien being aboard, without knowing what the effects could be, didn't even find out if it was carrying any germs that could be harmful to us, or our atmosphere harmful to it, you just brought it aboard, based on a whim?" Falco had listened to what Krystal had said, and was less than pleased.

"_He_ is not dangerous, Falco."

"And how the heck do you know, Krys?"

"I looked into his heart, and his intentions are not those of a malevolent person. He has a kind heart."

"And what use do you think that he'll be to us? We're mercenaries, not a charity."

"He's a soldier, and one with experience. I'll bet he'll prove this to you yet, Falco."

"_Him!?_ He's a kid, for God's sake. He looks like he belongs in a fast food joint, than a military." Fox was taking all this in silence. The boy was still young, granted, but so was Fox, when he defeated Andross the first time. And, Krystal has an uncanny ability for sensing the potential in others, when most simply give up on them. Maybe, just maybe...

"Let's check this guy out."

"WHAT!?"

"Thank you, Fox."

"Fox, think about this: we don't know _anything _about this guy. For all we know, he could be an assassin, just waiting for us to fall asleep, and then, 'gggkkkkkkkk'" Falco made a slit throat gesture across his neck. Krystal shot a glare at Falco, who ignored it, still trying to convince Fox not to trust the young man. All three made thier way to the wet-bar, where Jim was conversing with Slippy. Then, the amphibian saw them.

"Uh-oh."

"What?"

"You got company, and one of them's ticked, it looks like." Slippy turned around, and continued to clean glasses, while Jim was finishing his ale. He could feel it; the silence, the tension thick in the air,

'This might not go well,' he thought.

"You should learn to be more optimistic," Krystal said. He smiled at this.

"Even though she did it, I still can't believe it; you're actually here, Jim." He knew that was Fox.

"Fate has a weird way of turning things out, huh?" He turned to face them, and saw the three of them standing there in front of him. Fox had a bemused look on his face, while Falco looked rather agitated, and Krystal had her hands behind her back, smiling.

"Do you think you have what it takes to be in Star Fox?" Fox asked, his expression not changing, arms folded across his chest. Jim had a reply for that one. He took in a deep breath, and said it;

"I was asked the near same thing about joining my world's armed forces. What happened, was that they broke me down physically, mentally, and emotionally." He had a look of seriousness, and Krystal's smile faded. "But, where they broke me, they rebuilt me; my body became stronger, my mind sharper, and my emotions tougher. Because of that training, I felt like I could take on anything, and prevail. You ask if I'm good enough, I answer, 'Do, your, damndest, to _make_ me want to quit." He finalized, still keeping the air of seriousness about him. Falco stared at him, as did Krystal.

'Is he challenging Fox?' she wondered. Fox grinned openly.

"That's what I like to hear." He stuck out a hand to Jim, still grinning. "Welcome to team Star Fox." Jim stood up, looked at the hand, and gave an army style salute. Fox, puzzled, returned it. Jim then stuck out his own hand, and Fox took it, both were grinning widely. That was, until Jim felt a very cold chill run up his spine when he took Fox's hand. Then, he felt something at the back of his mind, like,

'A warning?' he thought, for he had no other name for it. 'What is this sensation I feel, this feeling of dread, like, Fox really wants to...kill me...' his expression hardly changed, but Krystal felt it, not just from Jim, but also the feeling of dread from Fox, like he wishes to murder him.

'What's going on?' she thought, worriedly.

"Something wrong?" asked Fox.

"Huh? Oh, uh, no. I'm just feeling tired. Not everyday that a human meets alien anthropomorphs, after all." Jim recovered with a slight smile.

"I'll bet." Fox replied. "Krystal will help show you to your room."

"Gladly."

"Thanks." He returned the smile that she gave him.

"Dinner's in a couple of hours, if your interested."

"No thanks, not feeling hungry."

"You probably wouldn't like the food we eat, anyway," Falco said. Fox and Krystal both shot him an angry glare.

"Well, not much of a fan of bird-seed after all, pal." This comment elicit a slight laugh from both vulpines, while Falco's eyes narrowed.

"Come on, let's get you settled in." Said Krystal, grinning. They went back to the room with the rows of seats, and grabbed his gear. Jim got his duffel, while Krystal carried his assault pack (he would've carried both, but she wanted to help, saying "Here, we help each other," with a large grin). With Krystal leading Jim, they walked to a room, not too far from the rec area. Krystal opened the door, and went in, with Jim following her. It was a rather large room, with a queen-sized bed at the other end, its own bathroom, and a view that was at least 2/3rds the size of the wall on the far right.

"Just set the pack on the bed, please." She set it down, gently, since he said that there were 'sensitive items' inside. Jim set the duffel at the foot of the bed, and proceeded to 'downgrade' (get his gear off.) He removed his nine-millimeter glock from its holster, cleared it, and set it on the desk next to the bed. Krystal went over, and picked it up. Having never seen a glock before, she started to inspect it. "Hey, be careful with that!" Krystal nearly dropped the weapon, had not Jim steadied her.

"I'm sorry," she said. "I've never seen a blaster like this before."

"It's not a blaster." "What?"

"It's not a blaster. Here, I'll show ya." He started to take the weapon apart, revealing the firing bolt, spring, hammer, etc., and handing all the pieces for her to look at, herself.

"Then, what does it fire?" Jim handed her a magazine. She removed a round, and looked at it closely. She placed the round back in the magazine, and handed it back to Jim.

"My commanding officer gave me that weapon, on my second deployment. That was also, when she died," he said it with pain, so Krystal decided not to probe the issue. She could tell that the weapon had some significant meaning to him. Perhaps, this commanding officer was a close friend of his. He started to unpack; first his laptop/accessories, which he placed inside the drawer on the desk, then several personal effects, like the used bullet he pulled out of his leg, during his second deployment. He had it placed in a special shatter-proof container, where it rattled inside. When Krystal asked about it, what he told her made her, somewhat, shocked. "Ya wanna see the scar?" He asked, with a grin, sounding somewhat like Jack Nicholson.

"Uhhh, no, thank you." She said, uneasily. He laughed at this.

'Never fails,' Jim thought to himself. He pulled out his other acus, and hung them inside the closet, near the door, along with his civilian clothes. Next, he pulled out his cds/dvds, and placed those next to his laptop, inside the drawer. That was when he decided to pull out his laptop, and placed it on the desk. He checked the battery meter, and saw that it was at 45%. 'Must've been in sleep mode, rather than in hibernation,' he thought, rather dismayed. "Hey, is there anyplace that I could hook this up to?" he asked, turning to Krystal. She reached behind the desk, and pulled out a chord that looked like the type attached to AC adapters for laptops. Jim hooked it to his laptop, and it started charging. Out of curiosity, he decided to check his connection. No connections were found, as he expected.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

"No. nothing's wrong," he said, smiling slightly.

"Are you sure you won't have dinner? I'm making it, and I'm a good cook." she said.

"If you put it like that, I guess I have to." He replied, still smiling.

"Great! You'll love my cooking!" She said, ecstatically. She ran out of the room, leaving Jim to wonder.

'Why is she being so nice to me? I've read that she has a kind heart, and caring personality, but it seems like, she's trying to attach herself to me. And Fox, when I shook his hand, I had this feeling of dread sweep over me, like he would like nothing more than to rip my guts out, and eat them as I watch. Could they be somehow...connected?' Jim pondered this, while he took out the picture of him and his brother, and placed it on the dresser, next to the door.

As Krystal pulled out all the ingredients from the refrigeration units, and placed them on the table in the kitchen, Fox showed up, and embraced her from behind. He placed a kiss on her cheek, and she giggled. "Not now, Fox, I'm busy."

"Alright, whatever you say," he replied, backing off. "How's our guest?" He asked, and then she felt it again; the feeling that he would wish to do him harm, over and over again. The sensation was enough to cut herself accidentally with the knife. She gave a pained cry, and held her bleeding finger. Fox took it, and wiped the blood off with a cloth. He then pulled out a bandage and placed it on the cut. "You gonna be okay?" he asked.

"Yes, I should be fine."

"You know, they say that chefs often put a piece of themselves into thier cooking, but I don't think that anyone has added thier own blood, before," he said, jokingly. Krystal laughed at this.

"What was it you asked?" she asked, in feigned curiosity.

"I said, 'How's our guest doing?'" This time, she didn't feel it. Was it all in her head?

"He's doing just fine. He said he changed his mind about dinner, and will be joining us."

"That's good to hear, I look forward to it." He got up, and was leaving, when he turned back.

"Sure you're alright?"

"I'll be just fine." she replied, smiling. Fox left the door, leaving Krystal to her thoughts. 'I know what I felt was real. It might not have been Fox, but someone or something wants to hurt Jim. Well, as long as I am here, nothing will happen to him,' she promised herself. This all started around a month ago, when Fox landed on that planet, a bleak little world hundreds of light years away from here. His arwing was having some mechanical problems, and decided to land on its surface to try to sort it out. After being out of contact for over an hour and a half, Krystal was about to go down and check up on Fox, when he left the planet's surface. She tried to reach him by radio, but was unable to. After landing on Great Fox, he explained that his radio was out of order, but after he had left, Krystal checked it herself, and found it to be in working order. Since then, Fox has been acting unlike himself. Aside from totally ignoring her most of the time, she sensed from him, a presence of maliciousness, of an evil that did not belong in Fox. When she asked about it, he told her to just mind her own business, something which he had never done, before. It hurt her, deeply. When she told the others about it, they told her that she was imagining things, that they hadn't noticed anything wrong with Fox. Either they were a lot less sharp than usual, or whatever it was, had them in its thrall. She feared it was the latter. She felt alone, and scared. Then, along came Jim, and things changed; the maliciousness had become more agitated, especially around Jim. Whenever Jim was around, it always felt like it wanted to murder him, in the most gruesome fashion, almost as if...'Was it afraid of Jim?' She thought. Now that she thought about it, she did sense something inside of him, something that was not quite awakened, but when fully awake, would make Jim into a force to be reckoned with. A strength that, when awakened, would change the face of the galaxy, forever. That's what she felt from him. And because of it, she felt this incredible sense of safety from him. 'He'll be able to protect me, Fox, Slippy, Falco, Peppy, and everyone, once his potential is fully realized,' she thought, then felt like she was getting ahead of herself. She really didn't know him, and, she felt that he wasn't aware of the power inside of him. But soon, there will come a day, when Jim will rise higher than them to protect the ones he loves. Then, she got to work on dinner.

At the dining table, which was a mid-sized round metal table, with at least ten seats around it, the air was alive with conversation. Jim was busy with explanations about his own homeworld, and how it is advancing, albeit slowly, at least to him, it did. Slippy asked if they still relied on fossil fuels, and he said that they did, but are now trying to find alternative, cleaner power sources; solar, wind power, even hydro-electricity. But, with everyone still dependant on fossil fuels, the development was going, what he felt, at a snail's pace. Wars were even fought for fossil fuels. The war he was in, before being found by Krystal, was over oil in the middle east. He remembers losing friends in that conflict. Krystal was instantly saddened by this, not knowing that such a people existed who still fought eachother over power sources. Fox could relate, as did the other members. The subject then turned to one he was more comfortable with; zoology. Krystal was interested in what kind of creatures lived on Earth. Jim said that, he was looking at them. They gave eachother puzzled looks, before turning back to Jim, who laughed out loud, and explained that, on Earth, the animal life is like the alien life he was looking at right now, only lower on the evolutionary ladder. He said that, hares, vulpines, falcons, and frogs lived out in the wild. But, due to the human's own destructive ignorance and uncaring attitude towards, what they believe to be, 'inferior animals', many species are threatened, even destroyed. Falco almost exploded when he said this. "So what the hell do you think we are, huh!? Are we inferior to you, as well!? Do you see yourself as higher up on the food chain, that you look down at us 'inferior animals'!?"

"Falco, that's not what I meant at all!" Jim defended. Falco nearly jumped and grabbed him by the throat. Only being restrained by Krystal and Fox, was he able to calm down some. Jim rose from the table, looked at them, shook his head sadly, and left the dining room.

"Jim, wait!"

"Let him go! If he has ideals that creatures like us are made to be bent to his kind's will, then I say that we throw him off this ship!" Krystal gave an angry stare at Falco, that made even him shudder, as if someone had replaced his spine with ice. She slammed her fists down hard on the table, and nearly yelled at him.

"What is wrong with you!? Ever since he came aboard, you've been treating him like the enemy, when he hasn't even done anything to you!"

"He's not one of us! He doesn't belong here! I say we dump him back on his home planet, where he belongs with the rest of the monsters that he calls his race." Krystal had just about enough. She balled up a fist, and struck Falco soundly in the right eye, making him fall back on his chair, and landing on the floor. Slippy was helping Falco up, who was holding his right eye in his hand, while he stared at her in shock at what had happened, as did everyone else. Her look of anger had not dissipated, and tears were now coming down her features. She ran out of the dining room, after Jim.

In his room, Jim was sitting at the foot of his bed, thinking about how much he had screwed up, in just a few short minutes, with just a few short words. Krystal entered his room, and sat next to him, and placed an arm around his shoulders. "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry," she said to him, quietly. He looked, and saw tears coming down her furry vulpine face.

"You're hurting..."

"Hmmm?" she looked at him, puzzled, and then, he wiped the tears from her face, the caring look never leaving his visage. She held to him tighter, and sobbed her own heart out onto his shoulder. He felt the moistness of her tears through the tan tee shirt he wore, and heard her whimpers, and sniffling. He merely held her close to him in an embrace, while she let loose her emotions onto him. That's when she felt it; the warm, gentle energy that was currently sleeping inside of him. She tried to feel it with her own life-force, but was blocked. Then, as if understanding, Jim opened himself up, mind and soul, to Krystal, and then, she felt it. For the first time, she felt his own power. It was immense, and it was slowly awakening. She felt its benevolence, and was instantly comforted by it. It was like, the purest thing in the universe to exist, had decided to spend just a little of its own timeless existence, just to comfort her in her hour of need. She felt its warmth, and caring nature, and her own soul seemed to float, in an endless sea of light. She closed her eyes, and lost herself.

When Krystal, at last, opened her eyes, she found herself lying on top of Jim, thier lips were touching, albeit barely, but were touching nonetheless. She quickly got up off of Jim, blushing in embarrassment. Jim stirred, but did not awaken. She looked over at the alarm clock, which read 7:30 p.m. She was in here for only fifteen minutes. She got up off of the bed, and made her way to the door, looked back, and wondered, just what was it that had happened. Her room was only a couple doors down. She went in, and collapsed onto her bed, taking in all that had happened within the last half hour, then, she fell asleep.

The team sat around the dining table, not moving, thier expressions blank, staring off into some unknown void. Only Fox remained active, his eyes glowing an evil red. 'So, my little plan backfired. If it wasn't for that stupid girl, the boy would have been disposed of by now. I could never take control of her, ever since I came aboard this vessel, I could not extend my influence onto her. No matter. I'll simply deal with this situation, myself. He has yet to fully awaken, so he should be easy to take care of. And, if the girl tries to interfere, what she will see, will freeze her soul, for eternity.' Fox thought with evil glee, or rather, what has possessed Fox.

The same dream, once more. Different from the last one, this one is where Jim is walking down a city street. At first, he thought it was an Earth city, but that was when he saw the bodies; birds, cats, dogs, pigs, all of them anthropomorphs, and either dead or dying. He was horrified by what he saw, and ran down farther down the street, to try and escape all that death and agony. Then, he saw it, a blue form lying prone on the ground. Before, he didn't know who it was. But, after he met her, did he have a name for her. He ran to her, and tried to awaken her. "Krystal! Are you alright!? Krystal!?" Her eyes open, revealing dying emeralds. She smiled weakly, and placed a hand on the side of his face, saying

"I knew that you'd return, loved one. They said...that you wouldn't...but they were wrong. I knew you'd return...Ultra..." then, she crumpled into dust in his hands, while Jim stared in horror at what he had seen, tears coming down his face. Weeping, he turned his face to the sky, which was filled with dark, storm clouds. Then, he roared a cry of rage, and agony. Then, his figure started to glow, and then, from his body, a brilliant flash of light was emanating from him, turning everything white.

"KRYSTAAAAALLL!" Jim shot up in his bed, sweat pouring off of his body, drenching his tan shirt, and pants. He sat on the side of his bed, holding his head in his hands. He looked up, and saw Krystal standing over him, a very concerned look on her face.

"Jim, are you alright?" she asked, worried.

"I'm fine. Just...a bad dream."

"About me?"

"Huh?"

"A bad dream about me?" she asked, looking at him at his eye level.

"Not in that way, rather, what had happened to you."

"What had happened to me?"

"I'd...rather not say." he said, turning away.

"It's alright, you don't have to tell me right now. Just know that, I'm right here if you need someone to talk to." she said, embracing him. He returned it, holding her close.

"Mind if I go shower?"

"No, not at all." As she got up off of him, he noticed what she was wearing; a tank-top, shorts, and the two rings on her tail, and nothing else.

'Whoah. I may be into humans, but...no. No, she's an alien, and Fox's girl. But still, she looks pretty.' She batted her eyes,

"Thank you, you're very sweet." she said, placing a kiss an his right cheek. He turned away, turning red. He walked over to the bathroom, and undressed. Krystal heard the water running, and looked around the room; it had more decor about it, and she looked at it all. She noticed the picture of him, and his brother. She picked it up, and looked at it, her expression one of sadness. 'He reminds me of Fox; both have lost a loved one in warfare, and both still suffer, because of it.' She wanted to help ease the pain in his heart, like she did with Fox. However, Fox nearly fell in love with her, because of that. Would Jim go through the same thing; fall in love with her, if she tries to help him? It was a confusing dilemma. Her heart, however, told her the answer, 'If he asks for it, then I will help him. No one should have to go through such pain.' And then, she saw it; standing in a pose, with the left arm at shoulder level, with the fist just beside the silver helmet shaped head, and the right arm straight up, was the Ultraman doll that he brought with him. She picked it up, and inspected it with her hands. Her mental power alerting her to its importance to him; not only able to read other people's thoughts and emotions, but she was also able to 'read' the emotional imprints off of objects or items that were held by an individual. Such an ability was considered rare among her Cerinian race, and Krystal was thought to be gifted because of it. The feelings she got from this particular item, was one of endearment and security. She read that he had this doll since a young age, modeled after a fictional being that, also since childhood, Jim idolized. When he was given this doll at his 3rd birthday, the two became inseparable. Even to this day, he still looks to it for comfort, on occasion, whenever things looked bad for him. She smiled at this, knowing how important it was to him; for him to bring it with him, out of all the other items for him to bring, he felt this one was the most important. She was so engrossed with the doll, that she never noticed the water shutting off, or Jim stepping out of the bathroom, towel around his waist, drying his hair with the other towel. He saw her stare deeply at the doll, and smiled.

'She didn't even see me come out,' he thought with a smile. He got up as close as he could to her, so as not to alert her, then shouted "HEY!" She gave a yelp, jumped, and whirled, while still holding the doll. Jim was standing behind her, trying desperately not to laugh. "Soil yourself?" he said with a wide grin.

"Don't do that!" she shouted, her face going red; even under the fur, he could tell, and to him, it made her look even more pretty. "That's what all guys say about angry girls," she said in an annoyed tone.

"Sorry. I saw you so engrossed with Ultraman, that I couldn't help it,"

"Is that his name?" she asked, looking back at the doll. Jim nodded, and her stare returned. 'Why does it look so...familiar..to me,' she thought to herself. She knows that she had seen it from somewhere before, but could not figure out where. Jim was able to get a good look at her now; her fur was mostly a light sky blue, with white going down from her vulpine face, to her stomach. There was even white on the inside of her legs and arms, and the tip of her tail was tipped with white, just like the vulpine on Earth.

'A beautiful example of what the foxes on Earth might one day look like, given enough time for them to evolve, that is.' She looked at him, after placing the doll back on the dresser, a slight smile on her face, and a twinkle in her emerald eyes.

"You do seem to like looking at me," she said, making a pose like a model. Jim felt his own face go red, and stammered with embarrassment;

"Well, I uh...you, uhm..I..I-I-I just meant that, as-as one of the only representators of your race, you-you...ah, crap." His arms went limp, and he hung his head in defeat, awaiting what was coming next.

"It's alright. Fox is the same way."

'Undoubtedly.' he thought. His head still down, he never noticed her getting closer. She placed her arms around him, and held him close, resting his head on her shoulder, and hers on his.

"You don't have to be nervous around me. You know that I don't bite," she said into his ear, making him feel more relaxed. "However, I would like to see you, as well." This made him stiffen, somewhat. When she moved over to him, he felt his body go numb, and then his temperature sky-rocketed. his thoughts were a swirl inside his head;

'Oh God, what if she, what if I, what am I, what if Fox finds out, what would happen if this-' Krystal picked this up, and tried to becalm the young human.

"I told you, don't be nervous around me," she said, sweetly.

"Can I at least put some shorts on!?" She looked down, and saw him wearing nothing, but the towel around his waist. She let out a slight giggle, and said

"Of course, if it will make you feel more comfortable." He walked over to his dresser, and pulled out a pair of black boxers, and slipped them on under his towel. Krystal then went over, and ran her hands over his body; Starting at his head and face, the soft fur feeling good on his skin, as she moved them over his face. Then, she brushed them over his neck, and pecs. While not exactly looking like Arnold Schwarzenegger, doesn't mean he wasn't packing any force: his arms had the muscles already showing, the biceps and triceps were showing definition, and while not having a 'six-pack' abs, his gut was as hard as steel. As she ran her hands over him, he felt some measure of comfort, except, when her nails dug into his flesh to feel the muscles better. He'd imagine that he'd feel similiar to other anthros. "Similiar, yes, but also different."

"Because of the fur?" She chuckled.

"That, and you feel...smoother, as well." Jim tried to take that as a compliment. She felt along his right arm, and squeezed it a bit, to better feel the muscles.

"Ah!" Jim pulled his arm back, suddenly, and saw blood trickle down, from where her nail pierced the flesh.

"Oh, I'm so sorry!" she said, examining the cut.

"Don't worry, it's nothing." he said, smiling. Krystal got a cloth and bandage from the medicine cabinet in the bathroom, wiped the blood off, and then bandaged his wound. She looked down, and saw the ring on his finger.

"Oh, how pretty!" she exclaimed.

"What, the ring?"

"What does it symbolize?"

"My graduation from training." He slipped the ring off of his finger, and handed it to her, "You can look at it," he said, gently. She took it, and stared at it; it was a ruby, in a silver cast, with writing on the band. She stared at it, with her focus completely on it. Then, she handed it back to him. He looked at it, slightly smiled, and handed it back to her. "I can...keep it?" Jim simply nodded. She took the ring, and slipped it on her ring-finger, on her right hand, where Jim wore it. She then hugged him, whispering "Thank you."

"No problem." he said gently to her, returning her embrace.

"Uhm, Jim?"

"Yes?"

"This may seem a little strange, but, I was hoping that, I could spend the night, with you."

"What?" he asked, pulling away.

"It's just, I feel so much safer, with you."

"But, what about Fox?"

"Fox," she looked away, before answering.

"Fox hasn't been himself, lately. He's changed, and, I don't think that it's for the better. It has me scared of what he will do next. I feel so much safer with you by my side. Please, Jim?" He saw the plea in her eyes, and remembered the feeling of dread he got from Fox, when he welcomed him to the team. Was, Krystal feeling the same thing? He smiled openly, and replied.

"I would like that, very much." The reply was probably like a miracle to her ears, for she collapsed into his arms, nearly in tears.

"Thank you, you don't know how much this means, to me," she almost sobbed.

'Was the feeling of dread getting to her, this much?' he wondered. Krystal got into the covers with Jim, holding him close to her, with his arm around her. He decided to play a song on his laptop, and inserted the ear buds.

"What's that?" she asked, curiously.

"Just a song. It helps me sleep at night."

"Can I listen?"

"It's in another language, you probably wouldn't understand it."

"It doesn't matter. As long as you're here, nothing really matters." Jim removed the ear-buds from the socket on the laptop, and the song played over the laptop's speakers, the kind that he hooked up to the console itself. The song was called 'Kimi Ni Dekiru Nani Ka.' At least, that's what it said on youtube. He remembers it simply as the intro song to Ultraman Cosmos. This was one of Jim's personal favorite songs, since it filled him with peace, comfort, and reassurance, that things will be alright in the end. And, it appeared that Krystal was feeling its effects as well, when he looked down at her. She had her eyes closed, as if asleep. When Krystal heard it, it reminded her of when she felt the power inside of Jim, the sleeping energy, that was pure and good. That's the sensation she got from the song; She felt that, things will work out in the end, and that everything will be alright. The song made her feel reassured, and peaceful. 'Jim was mistaken, I understand the song, perfectly.' She snuggled closer to Jim, never wanting to let him go, at least, not for tonight. With him in her embrace, sleep came to her, better than it had in weeks.


	2. Startling Revelations

Chapter 2

Startling Revelations

The same dream, once more. He is in Corneria City, or something akin to it, judging by all the animal bodies lying around. One even got up, and moved towards him; it was a bloodied terrier, standing as tall as he was, all torn up, with ugly lacerations across his mangled body. It pointed an accusing finger at Jim, his eyes burned coldly.

"Where were you!?" it shouted.

"I-"

"Where were you!? Where were you when we needed you!? Where were you when we pleaded for you to return to us, to protect us!? You were charged with our protection, and had failed in your duties! Now, look upon your folly!" It gestured to behind it, where a mob of injured animals were shambling towards Jim, all with the same accusing stare as the terrier. Jim could only stare on in horror, as the angry, injured mob slowly made its way towards him. Then, he found strength in his legs, and bolted away from the mob, when they were mere yards away. He didn't know how far away he ran, just so long as it was away from them, away from the accusing stares, and threats, and-

"No, I have to concentrate." He took a deep breath, and got his bearings once more. He looked up, and saw the same storm clouds rolling over each other, over a ruined city. That's when it hit him; 'I'm having a vision! This...this is a possible future, of which, I am a vital part of. But, what's my part? What role am I supposed to play on this stage? I am an actor, without an act...' Suddenly, he felt it, in his left breast pocket, almost touching his heart; he pulled it out, and was shocked to see what it was; 'Is this a...beta capsule?' he thought, in shock. The item was approximately six inches in length, and two inches in diameter. It was mostly white, with a red head, capped off with a flasher on the top. He felt along the smooth surface, until, he felt the switch. He pressed it, and was immediately enveloped in a swirl of golden light.

When he opened his eyes, at last, Jim could see that everything was as it was, since last night. Even Krystal, who had come to seek comfort from the young human, was still curled up, asleep, next to him with his arm still wrapped around her. She has talked about, feeling more secure around Jim, who could understand at this point. When he first met Fox, on this ship, he had this nearly overpowering sense of dread wash over him, as if Fox wanted to mutilate him, in the most horrid fashion. And Krystal, being a telepath, would've undoubtedly picked this up, and it greatly disturbed her, to the point of wanting to sleep with the stranger, who gave her a sense of security. But not just from Fox, but all around him, he has felt the presence, like a malevolent breeze, wafting through an open window; almost unfelt, but still made its presence known. Just then, he thought he felt Krystal shiver, slightly, then noticed that the temperature was cooler than usual. He pulled the large covers up to his chest, nearly covering Krystal completely. 'That should help keep her warm,' he thought. Jim looked at the alarm clock, which read "1:10" in fluorescent red lighting. 'Still have at least eight hours left. Better make the most of it,' he thought. However, the nightmare vision still haunted him. He stared at the ceiling, while Krystal hugged him to herself, practically attempting to wrap her body around him; he could feel her tail around his right leg, her own legs wrapped around his, while her arms did likewise around his chest and back, and her head resting against his shoulder. He can feel her squeeze him, and try to snuggle closer, like a child with her favorite teddy bear. Every now and then, he would hear her moan, softly, and hear her utter a single name:

"Fox...Fox...Fox..."

'Poor girl. She really wants her loved one back, desperately, and I'm the only one that, she feels, that can help her. Does...any of this...have something to do with these visions that I'm having.' She held onto him tighter still, and, for some inexplicable reason, this action gave Jim some measure of comfort, himself. 'As long as I am acting like a pacifier to her, why should I feel so down on myself? After all, it's the least I could do, for all that she has done for me.' He smiled at the thought, held Krystal more closely, and found sleep easier, with his last thoughts being 'Even in dream, she still helps me,' and embraced sleep.

After ordering the rest to thier quarters, the now possessed Fox waited in Fox's room. 'When they let thier gaurd down, even for the briefest of moments, I will strike, swift and sure, giving no quarter to my victim, or, if I'm lucky enough, victims...' it thought, a sadistic smile playing across Fox's red-eyed visage.

Awakening from sleep, Jim saw that Krystal still had her death-grip on him. He couldn't help, but smile slightly at this. 'Am I someone, who she feels that she can trust so quickly? She hardly knows me, and yet, right now, she's acting like we're best friends, or something. Maybe, once Fox gets back to normal, she will as well. Despite feeling good, it also feels awkward, and maybe a little guilty...' he thought to himself. He looked over at his alarm clock, which read, in fluorescent lighting, "8:27". 'So, my body decided to wake up a little early, eh?' Jim thought amusingly. No matter what, he almost always woke up around "8:30 a.m.", to the point, that it was practically a bodily function. 'So, how the hell do I pry 'Sleeping Beauty' here off of my body?' he thought with a laugh. The way she held him, was like a person afraid to let the other go, for fear that, she will never see him again. At least, that's how he felt. Soon, however, her eyes fluttered open, and she looked up at Jim, who smiled at her. "Sleep well?" he asked. She returned the smile, and nodded. She got up off of Jim, yawned loudly, and wiped the sleep from her eyes. He could feel the sudden cool air rush in on his bare skin, where she had been sleeping. Her fur, was softer than anything he had ever felt, rivaling that of velvet, in his opinion. She made her way over to his sink, and got the water going. She splashed it over her face, getting the sleep out of her system, making her more alert, and focused. After drying herself off with a towel, she looked into the mirror, and smiled. "And there's the face that we all know and love," Jim said, with a laugh. She turned to him, a smile played across her facial features. Jim turned, and rolled back into the covers. "Wake me in an hour..."

"Oh, no," she said, grabbing the covers, and yanking them off of him. He shuddered, and felt along his body, and found the blankets missing. He opened an eye, and saw Krystal grinning down at him, holding the covers. "You are so much like Fox..." She said, almost giggling.

"Well, most people like to sleep in, sometimes, ya know."

"However, I'm an early riser," she said, never losing that smile on her face. "Come on, I'll get breakfast started. You, get ready. I want to see when your training will start."

"Yippee..." he replied in a mock groan. She then threw the covers back onto the bed, onto Jim's still groggy body. After making his way out of them, he saw her leave his room, and decided to get up, and shower.

Krystal passed by Fox's room, and was about to nock, to see if he was awake yet, but thought better of it. After all that was happening, the last thing she wanted, was to unintentially agitate Fox, and, maybe, agitate whatever was wrong with him. She went to her room, to get dressed.

Fox peeked his head outside his door, his eyes glowing an angry scarlet. He snarled, savoring the moment, when he will make the human vermin pay for putting his filthy paws all over her. He retreated back into his darkened room, and grabbed his blaster. He holstered it, and went out. He made his way to Jim's door, taking slow, purposeful steps.

When Jim got on his tan tee-shirt, and strapped on his nine-mill, there was a knock at the door, and Jim went to answer it. It was Fox, wearing a grin. However, although it looked like that he was smiling, Jim knew that was just cover, for he could feel the maliciousness build up tenfold. The 'warning-sense' was kicked into overdrive, and Jim could feel something else other than the malevolence emanating off of him. He couldn't explain it, but he felt something was seriously wrong with Fox. 'Uh-oh,' he thought, nervously. "Hey Fox. Need somethin'?"

"As a matter of fact, I need to talk to you."

"Okay, 'bout what?"

"About a certain blue vixen, that, suddenly, has taken quite a shine to ya." Fox said, never losing the fake grin. He moved forward, towards Jim, and Jim backed away from Fox. However, he always kept the young man directly in front of him. "I wanna know what it was, that you two did last night."

"Nothing, we just talked." Jim said, back against the wall, with Fox's face inches from his, no longer smiling, but was now snarling.

"Really? I want to make sure, that you don't do anything incredibly stupid while you are with us..." Fox's ears were back, and his eyes burned coldly. Jim had enough. He didn't care that he was or wasn't Fox, he wasn't going to take being pushed around like this.

"Define 'incredibly stupid', to me, since, on my planet, I've done some crazy shit in my life." Jim felt Fox's hand on his throat, threatening to crush his windpipe.

"Like something that would get you killed..." he said, coldly. "Now, what was it, that you two love-birds talked about?"

"Ya wanna know?" Jim asked, nearly choking.

"Yeah, I really wanna know." Fox said.

"Alright, last night's topic, was about how you're not Fox!"

"What?" Fox asked, rather surprised. His grip loosened somewhat, making Jim breathe slightly easier.

"I said, we talked about how you're not Fox, but rather just a possessed body," Fox's visage turned blank, then he looked down, with a smirk playing across his face.

"I hate perceptive bastards like you..." Fox tossed Jim across the room, like a rag doll. He landed on the other side of the bed, and quickly rolled under it. He saw Fox's legs moving around to where he landed, then stopped abruptly. He was turning around rapidly, as if searching for him. That's when he decided to make his move; he grabbed Fox by the ankles, and pulled with all his might. Fox fell, face first, and Jim rolled out from under the bed. Fox tried to rise, but a swift kick to the face floored him once more. Jim ran out the door, and shut it behind him, holding it closed. He allowed himself to chuckle, having believed to escape a fate worse than death. Then, a fist shot out of the door, mere inches from his face, freezing the laugh in his throat. Then, another shot out, near the door knob, which Jim released upon reflex. The hand wrapped around the knob, and turned it. The door opened, revealing an angry Fox, with glowing, crimson eyes. Jim was backing away, slowly, never taking his eyes off of the possessed vulpine. The vulpine followed him, an evil grin spreading slowly across his features, a grin that promises death. Jim kept stepping back, not knowing what to do, where to go, then, he did the only thing he could think of

'Krystal, get up here! Fox has gone crazy! I need help! KRYYYYSSTAAAAALLLL!' he mentally shouted to her.

"Don't waste your energy, boy, she won't hear you." Fox laughed, evilly. "And now, you DIE!" Fox lunged at Jim, who braced himself. Then, a few red orbs shot past him, and struck Fox soundly in the chest, knocking him back. Jim knew that only one person on this ship was able to do that. He turned around, and smiled at Krystal, who was holding her Krazoa Staff in both hands.

"JIM!" she ran forward, and embraced him. "Are you okay!?" she asked, worriedly, holding his face in both hands.

"I'm fine, Krystal. Thanks." He walked over to where Fox lay, groaning in pain, trying to rise. Jim stood over him, while Fox looked up. "Alright, pal, you will tell me, exactly who or what the hell you really are." Jim growled at the possessed Fox, who merely chuckled at him. Jim delivered a swift kick to his ribs, eliciting a pained grunt from Fox. "NOW!" he shouted. Possessed Fox coughed twice, before answering.

"My race have no nomenclature that you are able to pronounce, so we merely called ourselves, when in your presence, the Dark Breed." For some reason, Jim knows he heard that name from somewhere before, but can't remember where.

"What have you done with Fox!?" Krystal snarled at the red-eyed possessed Fox.

"Heh heh heh heh... he's in his own little personal hell, honey. I put him there to keep him out of my way, and it gives me untold pleasure to watch him wander aimlessly across a duplicate of the Great Fox, while searching for you. You should hear just how he screams your name, heh heh heh heh heh. 'Krystal! Where are you, Krystal!? Where is everybody!? Please, somebody, anybody, help me!' Ha ha ha ha ha!" Krystal was brought to tears, at just how much this monster had made Fox suffer for the past month. And hearing the Dark Breed mocking Fox, only stoked the already burning flames of rage inside her soul. With a war cry, she was mere centimeters of striking the staff into Possessed Fox's heart, when Jim stopped her, grabbing onto her staff at the last minute.

"What are you DOING!?" she yelled, angrily.

"If you kill him now, you'll kill Fox's body, and then, we'll never get him back." This made her stop, but it didn't stop the flow of tears that came pouring out of her emerald eyes. Jim held her close, trying to console the blue vulpine as best he could. "It will be alright. We'll figure out a way to free Fox. I promise." He looked at the blue vulpine, and smiled at her reassuringly. She tried to smile through her tears, but was unable to, so she simply nodded. Jim then turned his attention back to the Dark Breed, his expression, one of anger, and determination. He dragged the Dark Breed to its feet, and thier faces were mere inches apart. "Release him, or I swear to God Almighty, you will suffer a fate worse than death..." he said threateningly. The Dark Breed merely laughed at this.

"You expect me to be scared of you?"

"No, not of me," Jim moved out of his view, until the Dark Breed could see Krystal perfectly. And, she was staring holes of hatred and anger into its soul. "You should be scared of her." Jim said, with a smirk.

"What, her? She's a dainty little princess. Even so, if she tries to hurt me, it will affect her boyfriend as well." the Dark Breed replied with a chuckle. Jim stepped back, as Krystal moved forward, her staff glowing a light blue, and tears streaming down her face.

"What I'm about to do to you and Fox, I wish I could do to just you, a thousand times." Krystal jabbed the staff into Possessed Fox's abdomen, eliciting a pained yell, as energy danced and crackled all over Fox's body. Krystal was saying, over and over again

"I'm so sorry Fox...I'm so sorry.. please, forgive me for this." Then, she felt a hand on her shoulder, and saw Jim standing over her, a look of assurance on his young face. Krystal found little comfort in this, as she focused on the task at hand. After tense long moments, Krystal shut off the power feed, and then backed away, as Fox's body slumped to the ground. Then, there was a sound of laughter, as Fox's body rose above the floor, like it was a puppet. Fox's head was glowing now, and the way it glowed, made it look like it was a green flaming fox's skull.

"Pathetic lowlife trash! You think that little twig of yours is a match for the power of the Dark Breed!?" Fox's voice was replaced by a gravelly, echoeing voice. Then, a green sphere of energy materialized in front of Fox's body, and was launched at Jim and Krystal. Thinking quickly, Jim shielded Krystal with his body, taking the full force of the blast, one that no human could ever hope to survive.

"JIIIIIIIIIMMMM!" As Krystal held Jim's dying form, he looked up at her, and placed a hand on the side of her furry, vulpine face, smiling as tears dropped onto his face.

"Krystal, I'm glad to have known you, however short it was. I'll tell Fox, that you love him so." Krystal was crying so hard, that she couldn't get a coherent sentence out. She held Jim's body close to her, hoping that the sleeping energy inside of him would fix this.

'It has to, it just has to..' she thought, desperately.

He was inside the white void, once more. Floating in endless peace. Then, the white turned red, an angry crimson, and then, the being appeared. "James..."

"You."

"I cannot allow you to die before your time. Although the awakening process is incomplete, I will allow you to have the power that has already awakened within you. Use this power, to save the one that you care about."

"'One I care about'? You mean, Krystal?" The entity nodded, then, there was a brilliant flash of light, and Jim felt imbued with a new power, and felt assurance that, with this strength, he will protect her.

As Krystal was cradling Jim's body, she felt a presence; like the one from last night, it was a good and pure energy, but it was also...different. It was not the kind and caring energy, but rather, a strong and fierce power, 'The energy of a warrior,' she thought. Then, she noticed, that it was coming from Jim, and that he was glowing a brilliant crimson. He hovered away from her, and was standing in between her, and the Dark Breed. Suddenly, Jim brought his arms together, having them meet at the wrists, and shouting "GAI-YOOOOOO!" and then, his form changed; he became more muscular, his muscles more defined, and a sense of power eminated from him. His coloring was also different, being mostly silver, with the red acting as 'covering' for the silver, he even had red 'boxers'. When he turned to face her, the face is what startled her most of all; not even looking like a human's face, it was smooth and featureless, like a mask, or helmet, with glowing oval orbs for eyes, and a fin going through the center of the face. She also saw the chest, and saw a glowing blue light, as bright as the brightest star on a clear night. Then, the new being turned its attention back to the Dark Breed, who had a look of surprise and horror on its face.

"No, it's impossible, YOU CAN'T HAVE AWAKENED ALREADY!" it shouted in terror.

"Let the vulpine go." the being said, in a strong, but also gentle voice.

"No! This is my body! MY BODY!" the Dark Breed shouted at 'Jim'. Then, 'Jim' made a gesture; placing his hands in a circle around his blue light, and then, while still keeping them in a circle, thrust them outward, at the Dark Breed. What happened, was that a shower of golden light came forth from the open circle, and rained on the Dark Breed, who seemed to be in pain, as he was shouting, yelling, then screaming.

"Now, Krystal."

"Wh-what?"

"Use your Krazoa Staff to contact Fox. Place it on the Heart of his body, and call for Fox."

"O-okay," she said, not fully comprehending.

"Be swift, for I cannot hold it indefinitely."

"Right." She ran to the possessed screaming Fox, and placed the end of her staff onto his chest, then, reaching out with her mind, she looked for Fox. She was in an exact duplicate of the Great Fox, except, there was no one around, and it was dark. "FOX!" She called. No answer. "FOOOX!" she tried louder, this time, she got a reaction.

"Krystal...?" She followed the voice down a hallway, until she found him; Fox was lying, prone, in the control room. "FOOX!" She ran over to him, and shook him awake. When his green eyes fluttered open, her own eyes began to well up with tears, and held him close to her.

"Hurry..."

"Jim?"

"Please, hurry. I cannot maintain the rift, for too much longer..."

"Right! Fox, can you walk?"

"I..think so..."

"Good. We have to get out of here, now!"

"But...how?"

"Follow me, but please hurry."

"O-okay." Fox was moving as fast as he could, but was severely weakened, due to the ordeal he went through. However, they found the rift in time, and both exited out of the Dark Breed's body. "Is that...my body?" asked Fox, weakly. They both got behind 'Jim', who nodded at them. When he turned the light shower off, the Dark Breed took on its true form, now that it was separated from Fox, it could no longer hide its real self, that, of a demonic entity, with a goat's head, horns, claws, hooves, and bat-like wings. 'Jim' did another gesture; he stuck his right arm straight up, hand outstretched, where it seemed to gather light and energy around it, and swung it down. As he swung it down he shouted

"Spacium," And then, he brought his left arm, vertical, in front of the right arm, horizontal, both had the hands outstretched, forming a cross shape. At this time, he shouted "Kousen!", and a blue/white beam erupted from the edge of the right hand, and struck soundly against the Dark Breed's chest. It gave an unholy shriek of agony, before turning to ashes, and vanishing into nothingness. He turned to Fox and Krystal. Fox was passed out, while Krystal was trying to wake him. "Better to let him sleep,"

"Wh-what?"

"He has suffered, and survived, through an ordeal, that few, if any, can say that they have gone."

"Wh-who are you?"

"My kind have many names across the endless reaches that is our universe, but, you may call me, an 'Ultra'."

"'Ultra'...as in Ultra...man?" He gave a slight chuckle at this.

"I see you have been listening to James. That was one name we were given."

'So, and all this time, he thought that they were just a fantasy,'

"No, we are very real." Krystal gasped.

"My apologies. Your thoughts, are like an open book to me." She blushed. "Krystal, I have something very important to ask of you. The time is coming, when James will be in control of this power. However, he is still young, and does not yet fully comprehend it, as of yet. The trials he will face will be difficult, and full of pain and strife. I would like you to be his emotional, and spiritual guide. The reason I ask you of this, is because he will come face to face, with a very harsh reality. One that, may very well, make you the one person that he can trust. He will doubt himself, and when he does, I would like you to remind him who he is. Can I trust you with this task?" Krystal took in all of this. And when she did, her heart, as usual, told her the answer.

"Yes, I will watch over him."

"Thank you, Krystal. James is right about you; if there were more people like you in the endless universe, whole worlds would not have been made to suffer."

"He-he really said that?" she asked, a tear forming in her eye.

"Not out loud to anyone, but I felt it in his heart. Because of you, he feels like he was given a second chance at life, and thus, will be loyal to you, even after the end of eternity." Now, the tears came more freely, as she heard these words from her friend's alien alter-ego. "Farewell, Krystal." Suddenly, Light enveloped the Ultra, and when it dissipated, Jim was standing there, smiling the smile that Krystal has already gotten to know so well. Then, his eyes rolled up, and he fell forward. Krystal was barely able to catch him, and sat there, cradling his upper body, begging for him to wake up. When his steel-grey eyes fluttered open, and made contact with Krystal's emerald eyes, they were flowing with a sea of teary emotion. Jim placed a gentle hand on the side of her face, and Krystal took it into her own hand.

"Hey, pretty lady. Why so sad?"

"Nothing. Everything is alright now."

"Of course it is. I said it would be, didn't I?" Krystal said nothing, and just held the closest thing she had to a brother, closer to herself, and wept silently, while Jim drifted off into a deep slumber.

"It would appear, that our agent has failed." "Of course; a mere Dark Breed, is no match for a member of the Ultra Garrison, especially one this powerful." "What is your bidding?" "Destroy the Terran's planet, as planned. Even though the boy survives, we cannot allow his race to achieve ultimate power." "As you will, Lord Gorzul."

He felt it. In slumber, he felt the cries of pain, and agony, of countless people. The people were dying, as thier world was now dying. Thier world, was being washed over by fire, scorching everything that it touched, turning it all to ash and cinder. The men, women, children, elderly, young, rich, poor, good, guilty, the flames cared not, for they washed over everything, like a flood. And, he was powerless to do anything.

Jim was stirring. When his steel-grey eyes fluttered open, he saw that he was back in his room. He got up out of his bed, and made his way to his door, where Krystal was standing there, just about to knock. "Jim!" She embraced him, and Jim, confused, returned it.

"Are ya okay, Krystal? You seem to like something's happened." Jim remembered pieces about what had happened to the Dark Breed, but he knows that, some how, it was destroyed.

"Jim...I…"

"What?"

"We were going by Earth, so you could send a message to your people, and..." "What? What's wrong?"

"It-it would be better, if I showed you." Krystal lead Jim to the control head, where, on the monitor, he saw a dead, ash-grey world, devoid of any green vegetation, or blue oceans that it was famous for, just a dead ash grey, orbited by a single moon. Jim could feel himself die inside, as he started to understand what Krystal had meant.

"Is...that..."

"Yes." Krystal had tears forming in her emerald eyes, and embraced Jim from behind. The human could only stand there, shocked, sad, and angry at the same time. He slumped to the ground, on his knees. Then, he threw his head up ward, and issued a scream of agony and rage. The team stopped what they were doing, and saw the young human, kneeling, issuing his pain to the heavens, and felt for him. Krystal still held him.

"Damn...it..." When he was done, he slumped once more, whispering

"Damn it, damn it, damn it, damn it..." Once more, he threw his head upward, and yelled "DAMN IT ALL TO HEEEEEEEELLLLLLL!" He was on his knees, sobbing, while Krystal was holding him close, saying gently

"It will be alright. I'll watch over you, I promise." The way she spoke, was like a mother to a lonely child.

"Gone, they're all gone."

"I know,"

"Not fair, it's just...not fair..."

"No, it isn't." Krystal held the young man, as he gently sobbed his soul into her chest, and suddenly realized, just what the Ultra had meant, 'He lost his home, family, and friends. I am all that he has left.' She continued to hold onto the young man, never wanting to let him go.

Fox and Krystal stood alone in the control center, both staring at the dead world. "What do we do with him now, Fox?"

"You brought him aboard, he's your responsibility. Besides, I don't think it would be right, to just dump him on another alien world. You said, that he was a soldier at one point?"

"Yes, and, despite his age, he has seen combat." Fox remembered that, when the human first came onboard. Despite being under the control of the Dark Breed most of the time, there were times, when he was allowed control, once more.

"Do you believe, that he will fully commit himself to our cause?" Krystal looked at Fox.

"He has no choice, now. Besides, he felt that, when I brought him on this ship, and offered him to join the team, that I was giving him a second chance," she said, remembering the words of the Ultra. 'Also, I'm all that he has left, now. No home, no family, no friends...well. One friend, at least,' she thought, a tear going down her face. "I'll ask when he wants to start training, if he still wants to." said Fox, making his way to the door. Krystal was standing on the control deck, alone, staring at the dead planet, a planet that was once a lush green, and cerulean blue. A world, full of life, now reduced to a rock in space. She stared at it, and was remembering how her own world was destroyed.

Fox went to Jim's room, and saw the young human staring out of his viewport, at the dead Earth. Fox placed a hand on the boy's shoulder, but he didn't seem to notice, until he started to speak; "There were over six billion people living on that planet. Six billion, wiped out, in the blink of an eye. We were just stepping out into space, maybe meet you guys, somewhere in the near future, and form alliances across the endless cosmos. But, all that is gone, now. Six billion humans are dead, and I am all that remains of them..." a tear trickled down his cheek when he said this, and Fox felt for the young man; Krystal lost her world as well, and so, they will always share a special bond with one another.

"Jim, are you still interested in joining Star Fox?" Jim turned to face the older vulpine, tears streaming down his determined face.

"You remember what I said, Fox?"

"Uhhh,"

"I said 'do your damndest, to make me want to quit'." Krystal walked in, and heard Jim say the line, and was smiling at it.

'He won't give in. No matter what, he will not give in.'

"When does training begin?"

"Whenever you're ready." Jim turned back to the view port.

"Give me the day after tomorrow. I need to resituate myself."

"Done." Fox stared at the young man, and tried to give some measure of comfort to him. "Jim, I'd imagine that you feel all alone in the universe right now. But, you don't have to isolate yourself, not like this. We may not be much, but, we are a team, and usually we are also a family." The last one made Jim turn his head, slightly, at Fox. Fox took it as an acknowledgement, and made his way to the door. He saw Krystal standing there, and she gave him a smile. He returned it, and exited the door. Krystal gave a hug to Jim from behind, and gently kissed his cheek, resting her head on his right shoulder. Suddenly, Jim felt that, he wasn't quite as alone as he thought, as both human and vulpine gazed at the dead planet.


	3. General Pepper's Test

Chapter 3

General Pepper's test

Jim started training, and instantly impressed the team. Not only acing the on-board combat simulators, but he was also able to tie with Falco's high-score(much to the avian's chagrin). Not only earning his flight license, but he also earned his arwing permit, all in a couple of days. As Fox was fond of saying, 'It's like he was born to fly, just never had the time to grow wings' as he mentored the young man. When he submitted his test scores to General Pepper on Corneria, the general thought he was looking at Fox's record, rather than the human's. When Fox asked if he could be on the team, Pepper said he had no problem with it, and would like to meet the young man himself. Not only showing skill inside the simulator, but he also displayed it inside the real deal; with Krystal as his flight instructor, they would often do aerial maneuvers near either Jupiter, or Saturn, since "They're the prettiest in the system," as the girl was often fond of saying. She especially liked Saturn best, with its rings going around the planet. Often times, when they were close enough, she would just stare at them, in awe and wonder, just gazing at the ice and crystals inside the rings. They would even do maneuvers inside the rings themselves; doing rolls, turns, and flips, dancing amid the rings. The arwings would often come back, all scratched and chipped, making Slippy work extra hours to keep them maintained, of which he was not greatly appreciative. One time, he found a crystal fragment lodged inside Krystal's arwing. Slippy was about to throw it away when Jim salvaged it. After fashioning it into a necklace, using one of his spare dog-tag chains, he offered it to Krystal, as his way of saying thanks for flying with him. She took it, as he expected her to; she gazed at it with affection for a moment, then returned that affection with an embrace, and a kiss on the cheek. Even though she never takes it off, the ring he gave her is now missing. When he asked where it was, she showed him; she had it placed inside a special clear container, set upon a specially treated fabric, so as not to scratch, or blemish the ring, in any way. It was her way, of remembering thier first day together. Jim laughed when he found this out, saying that, "I don't think that a ring is meant to be in a display case, for the rest of eternity." However, she said that she would like to keep it preserved, for all of eternity, like the memories she would like to have with the human. Jim wondered what she meant by her having memories with him. Normally, that's what a girl would say about a guy she really liked, as in having a crush on. At least, on his planet, it did. The time finally came, when the Great Fox was due back at Corneria for maintenance, and supplies. Jim was, understandably, a little nervous about leaving the Sol system. Leaving the Earth was one thing, but leaving his home system was another ball game, all together. Jim was standing in his room, gazing at Saturn, and its rings, wondering, if he'll ever see it again. Krystal popped up into his room, per usual, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders. Looking over his shoulder, she gazed at Saturn with the young man. "I will miss that planet."

"Because of the rings?" She chuckled.

"That, and the memories." She pulled out the necklace he gave her, and looked at it with affection. Then, tugged Jim by the arm. "Come on, we're going to warp, in a few minutes."

"I'll be right there." He turned his gaze back to Saturn, wondering, if he'll ever return to Sol again.

Making his way to the command bridge, Jim saw Krystal standing by the right view port, as if looking for something. Fox was over by Peppy, inputting the coordinates, while Slippy and Falco were busy at the other consoles. Fox saw Jim, and made his way to him, a slight grin on his face. "I don't think that, your kind has discovered warp speed yet, have they?"

"No, why?"

"Nothing. Just, don't forget to breathe when you see it." He left Jim, with a confused look on his face, and made his way back to Peppy. After an automated countdown from ten, the ship gave a great lurch forward, and Jim could feel the ship vibrate. All at once, he heard a high-pitched ringing in his ears, and had a splitting headache. He made his way over to Krystal, who was gazing out of the viewport. He placed a hand on her shoulder, her smiling face quickly replaced by one of worry as she saw the pained look on Jim's face. She asked what was wrong, but Jim saw her lips moved with no sound coming out. Then, his vision blurred, and everything went black.

When he opened his eyes, he saw that he was in the infirmary. The smell of alcohol and disinfectant assaulted his nostrils, making him sit up suddenly. He never liked hospitals, and he disliked this place nonetheless. He got up out of bed, and made his way to the door. His legs felt strange, like they were numb from the knees down. He exited the door, where he saw an upset Krystal, talking to, what looked like, an apologetic Peppy. "-Sure that he's alright? He's a human, and never been to warp speed, and-"

"Krystal, calm down. It's not like he's going to die or anything. You were the same way, on your first warp speed trip. I should've told him, but these things have a tendency to slip my mind, I'm afraid."

"Then right them down, so you won't forget." a rather annoyed Jim sounded from behind Krystal. She whirled, and embraced Jim in a large hug, and held his face, as if to inspect it for damage.

"Are you okay?" she asked, in a concerned tone, not letting go of his face.

"I'm fine, just...weird."

"My bad." Peppy sounded. Jim looked at the elder hare.

"Your people hadn't developed warp speed yet, so your body is naturally unused to the effects that it has. Don't worry, you'll get used to it." As the three of them exited the infirmary, and headed for the gangway, the rest of the team was waiting for them.

"Jim, how ya feelin'?" Falco asked.

"Never been better, Falco." Jim said with a grin. As the gangway opened, Jim got his first look at Corneria City. It looked just like most of the cities that were once abundant on Earth, with two major differences

1. The city was more technologically advanced, than the cities on Earth, by at least a century.

2. All the inhabitants, were anthropomorphs; dogs, cats, birds, pigs, rodents, you name it, they got it.

Jim was thankful for his shaded eye-pro(eyeball protection), and cap, otherwise, all of the inhabitants might've been staring at him, rather than some. If not for the shades, the team might've seen the look of surprise on his face. Krystal, however, picked it up immediately. 'Not what you were expecting, is it?' she telepathically communicated to him, with a laugh.

'Well, it certainly looked bigger in the game, but...' At the mention of the word 'game', Krystal felt odd, like she was hollow, empty, unreal. She could not get used to the fact that all the humans knew of the team's exploits, through a video game; all of thier great triumphs, and worst failures. All of thier happiness, and sadness, all the good, and bad, all of it, recorded on a console, solely for entertainment. This made her feel like, she wasn't a real person, like she was created, solely for someone's amusement. And, it made her feel empty inside. Jim took notice of this through the rapport, and tried to console her. 'Krystal, I'm sorry. I forgot, you're not really comfortable about this issue.'

'It's alright. You never meant it like that. It's just, the very idea that all of our experiences are on an entertainment item, makes me feel...so...'

'Empty.' he finished for her. Krystal looked up, and saw the human smile at her. 'If it's any consolation, you are more of a real person than most of the humans I had to deal with on Earth. You have a kind, and caring soul. That is far more than I can say for most of the people I knew on Earth, believe me. You are more real than you know.' The communicated statement brought a tear to her eye, as she stared at the smiling young man.

"Hey, what are you two waiting for!? Let's go, awready!" They both turned to the sound of Falco's voice, and saw the team was twenty yards away from them. They ran to catch up to them, and both headed down a busy street. When they reached thier destination, Jim admitted to being a little impressed; they had reached a circle of large buildings, surrounding a large park, with a path cutting through the middle. The tallest building, was in the middle of the circle, rising higher than the rest.

'Impressed?' Krystal asked, seeing Jim's expression.

"Yeah, very impressive!' they communicated through the rapport. What they were looking at, was the heart of the Cornerian Military, the Cornerian Army Command Central. Once they made thier way inside the tall structure, they passed a fountain, of the Cornerian Army logo spouting water from the top, and into the pool, surrounded be a beautifully sculptured barrier. The team made thier way to the reception desk, where a female husky greeted them. Fox stated thier business, and she told them where to go. She saw Jim, and flashed him a smile. He returned it, and nodded slightly, a little puzzled. 'What was that about?' Jim thought to himself.

'She thought you were cute.'

'WHAT!? Look, I am not into inter-species relationships, okay!? So, if you were just trying to get me a date, you're out of luck!' Krystal laughed at the communicated comment. Though he may be the last of his kind, he's not really willing to explore the 'other options'. They made thier way down a large hallway, until they stopped at a door, with the name "General Pepper: Cornerian Army Director" written in bold letters on the glass view of the door. Fox knocked on the door, and was greeted by a gruff sounding voice;

"Who is it!? I'm expecting someone!"

"Team Star Fox, reporting as ordered, sir!"

"Fox? By all means, come on in!" The team entered the office, and Jim found that it was deceptively more spacious, than it appeared on the outside. In front of them, there was a large desk, where the general sat.

'He looks almost exactly like his game character...' Jim thought to himself. Krystal picked it up, but didn't let it bother her. The general was a wizened blood-hound in a bright red uniform with military cap and white gloves. He appeared to be glossing over some files. When he looked up, a slight smile played over his wrinkled features.

"Fox, I see that you have a new recruit. Even though I saw the photos, I still could not believe it." The team made a hole, so Jim could be seen better be General Pepper. "A real, live, human. You know, your kind is considered to be rare, especially out here."

"You mean, there are other humans?" Jim asked, his voice showing a slight glimmer of hope.

"As far as I know, your Earth was the only world, where your kind existed. So far, the evidence suggests that yours was an indigenous species."

"I...see." Jim replied, downtrodden.

"However, the universe is vast beyond imagining. I'm sure that, somewhere out there, there are others like you." Jim allowed that one glimmer of hope to remain alive inside of him. "However, I am more concerned about this particular human. I have read the observations about you, and seen the test results. Both, are most impressive. Surely, a fine example of the race you represent. And, a soldier no less. You do your race proud, young man, very proud." Jim felt a hand on his shoulder, and saw Fox smiling at him, reassuringly. Jim returned it, and nodded. "I'd like to speak with him alone, if you don't mind," he gestured to the door, behind them. The team left the human and blood-hound alone, however, none of them noticed Slippy dropping something into the potted plant beside the door. Outside, the team waited in the waiting chairs, on the opposite side of the hall.

"Man, isn't there any way to listen in?"

"As a matter of fact, Falco, there is." Slippy pulled out a twelve inch monitor from behind him, and the team gathered around it, watching it with all of thier undivided attention.

Inside, Jim stood at the position of attention; eyes forward, face blank, arms at the sides, the works. General Pepper sat there, with a smile on his face. "So, what kind of a soldier were you?"

"Sir, I was a soldier in the United States Armed Forces, of the continent America, of the planet Earth, sir!"

"I see. And, what kind of soldiers did they train there?"

"Sir, only the best of the best, sir!" Jim replied, loud and proud.

"I can see that. It says here that, you were a 'specialist'?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"What did you specialize in?"

"Sir, 'specialist' is the rank given to those, who exceed the expectations of the rank 'private first class', sir!"

"So, 'specialist' is a rank now, eh?"

"Sir, yes, sir!" Pepper reached out from behind his desk, and pulled out a jar of suckers. He pulled out a blue one, removed the wrapper, and placed it into his mouth.

"Would you like one?" Jim barely glanced at the jar, before returning his eyes forward.

"Sir, I must respectfully decline, sir!"

"Put you on a diet where you from?"

"Sir, yes, sir!"

"Well, we're not on Earth now, are we?" He wiggled the jar, making the candy jiggle a bit. Jim stuck out a reluctant hand, and pulled out a red sucker, and placed it in his right cargo pocket.

"Good choice."

"Sir, thank you, sir!"

"That's an interesting weapon you have, there. Mind if I take a look." Jim unholstered his nine-millimeter Glock, and cleared it; he pointed the weapon in a safe direction, away from the general, made sure the weapon was on safe, removed the magazine, placed the magazine on the desk, pulled the bolt back, made sure the chamber was empty, and slid the bolt forward, placing the ejected round in the magazine, after setting the glock on the desk. He then went back to the position of attention.

"Sir, weapon is now cleared for inspection, sir!"

"Thank you soldier. Wouldn't want an accident, now would we." Pepper picked the Glock up, and practiced aiming it at the far right wall.

"How accurate is this weapon?"

"Sir, the nine-millimeter Glock is accurate up to fifty meters, sir!"

"Fifty? that's mighty close."

"Sir, that is why we are normally armed with rifles, sir!"

"How effective is this weapon?"

"Sir, the weapon is only as effective as the soldier firing it, sir!"

"Show me."

"...sir?"

"Shoot me." Jim felt his body go numb. Outside, the team could scarcely believe what they had heard. "Di-did General Pepper just tell Jim to shoot him?"

"I...think so, Slip." said Falco, uneasily.

"But...why? Why would General Pepper want Jim to kill him?"

"Don't worry Krystal, he knows what he's doing." said Peppy, wondering if he did have a plan.

"Sir, I must respectfully decline, sir!"

"And why is that?"

"Sir, I cannot shoot a superior officer, sir!" General Pepper's smile disappeared, replaced by a stern look.

"I am giving you an order, soldier, now, pick up that weapon, and shoot me!" Jim loaded the magazine into the Glock, and locked a round in the chamber.

"General, NOOOOO!" Fox slammed his body against the door, in a vain attempt to get it opened. But, the door would not budge.

"Fox!" Fox ran back to the screen, and saw Jim take aim at General Pepper.

"Do it." he said, on the screen. 'BANG!'

"NOOOOOO!" Fox and co. broke down the door, and what they saw made them freeze; Jim was standing in place, his pistol in hand while Pepper was beaming at him, and the team, with a bullet hole in the glass view behind him just a few inches shy of touching his head.

"You missed deliberately. Why?"

"Sir, I am a soldier, not a murderer, sir!"

"What's the difference?" Pepper asked, never losing his smile.

"Sir, a soldier upholds the constitution of his nation, defends the people of his nation, and fights the enemies of his nation! A murderer kills indiscriminately, albeit for pleasure, vengeance, or a mental imbalance, sir!" General Pepper let out a hearty laugh, and sat back down on his chair.

"Very good! Very good! You may all relax, I'm perfectly fine." Jim holstered his weapon, and stood at ease, while the team picked themselves up. "Son, do you know the purpose of that test?"

"To see if I'm really a soldier."

"Exactly. And, you have proven your worth, and your honor." He stuck out a hand, and Jim took it.

"Welcome to Team Star Fox, James Aaron Howards Jr., Specialist of the United States Armed Forces of America, of Earth!" Pepper said, loud and proud. Jim felt a grin play across his features.

Outside the complex, the team was still giving Jim congrats all around; "Good work, Jim!"

"Never expected the general to pull that one…"

"Nice going, bud!"

"You did it! You pulled it off!" Krystal embraced Jim from behind.

"Excellent, Jim! The general trusts you, now. You're one of us from now on!"

"Great. Now, if you all will excuse me, I need to go throw up..." Jim, looking pale and feeling faint, stumbled to a lamppost and slumped to his knees. "I...just pulled...a gun...on a general..." he said, not believing what had happened.

"Here, pal, let me help you up." Fox got Jim by the arm, and helped the young man to his feet.

"Hey, who's hungry? I know this great place!" Slippy said excitedly.

"Jim, think you'll be able to keep something down?" Krystal asked, still smiling.

"I'll be fine, I just need some water." he said, a little faint. Then, the team, with thier newest member in tow, made thier way into the sunset.

In his office, General Pepper watched the team leave the complex. When they had left, he pulled out, from a drawer, a box, with a glowing item inside. He held the box, remembering the words of a being made of light:

_"You will give this item to the rightful owner."_

_"But, how will I know who the rightful owner is?" _

_"You will know, for he will have the power of our race." _

General Pepper came back from memory, contemplating about the young man. 'He certainly seems like it, but, time will tell. Yes, time will tell.' He stared out of the glass view with the bullet hole, and watched the tranquil sunset.


	4. Uniform of a Soldier

Chapter 4

Uniform of a Soldier

When the team checked themselves into the hotel that General Pepper had reserved for them, Jim was a bit pleasantly surprised; it looked like the kind of hotel suites that were often found in Las Vegas, or other popular tourist traps on Earth. With a grand, royal looking exterior, the hotel looked like it was carved out of solid marble, and had a Spartan/Roman feel to it. The inside was no less impressive; the main lobby being large and spacious, with a large fountain in the middle of the hall, with lounge chairs, and sofas next to spiraling stairways, that led to, as Jim assumed, to the rooms, while the cieling was painted in, what looked like to him, renaissance style, with angels flying among clouds, while souls walked among them. The group made thier way to the reception desk, and were greeted by a male great Dane. "Good evening, and welcome to the Lylat Ball. Do you have a reservation?" he asked, in a voice that reminded Jim of a butler.

"Six, under McCloud. We were given rooms by General Pepper."

"Ah, of course." He reached behind the desk, and pulled six cards, not looking quite unlike the card-keys used on Earth. He handed them to the members, but when he handed Jim his card-key, he gave him a funny look, and handed his key in a curtly manner.

'What the hell is this guy's problem?' Jim thought, in an annoyed tone.

'He's just not used to seeing humans. Give them time, they'll get used to you.' Krystal replied, in an understanding tone.

'Yeah, I'll bet.' Jim scoffed. Krystal couldn't blame him. When she first joined the team, she got pretty much the same treatment; distrust, and suspicion. Only with Fox's help did she overcome it. And, she was going to help the human do the same. They made thier way to thier rooms, and when Jim entered his room, he was, again, pleasantly surprised; it was like the Earth-style suites that only the rich, famous, or important used, with a large bedroom with a king-sized bed, complete with its own bathroom, large dining room and stocked kitchen, lavishing den with a fire place, and a large monitor attached to the wall. He supposed that, due to the team's fame, such perks were probably a given. They would be staying here for at least a week, until Great Fox was done getting maintained, and resupplied. His duffel and assault pack were already placed on his bed, courtesy of ROB 64, the team's robotic helping hand. He hardly saw the automaton around during his time with the team, but when he did see him, he looked pretty much like his game character. 'Hell, everyone in this friggin' system looks like thier game character!' he thought, exhaustedly. He just wondered, how such a thing could be possible. After crashing down onto the large, comfortable bed, he pulled out his laptop from his assault pack, and placed it on the nightstand, next to his bed. He found the chord, and hooked his laptop up to it, the battery charging. He put on the movie "300", and was starting to take his acu's off, when there was a knock at the door. He opened it up, and saw Falco, dressed like a biker, with a black leather jacket, jeans, white tee-shirt, and digitless gloves.

"Hey, Jim. Fox wanted me to ask you, if you would care to join us on a little outing tonight." "Not really, I'm kinda tired."

"Alright, fine. Suit yourself." As he turned to leave, Falco glanced back, and said something he wouldn't expect from the avian;

"For what it's worth, I'm sorry for treating ya like crap, lately. I'm...not real good at meeting new people."

"Jeez, Falco, ya gonna cry now?" Fox said, behind him. He whirled, and said

"No! Just having a...guy..moment with Jim here."

"Sure. Ya comin' or what?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm comin'." As he turned to leave, Jim called out "Hey!" Falco whirled. "Thanks." He said. Falco gave a slight smile, and went with the rest of the group. Jim closed the door, and was now changing from acu, to civilian attire. He put on his favorite dark brown tee-shirt, which has a pair of giant, green-flamed skulls, and brown cargo pants. The time read '7:30', barely evening. He could get room service, and just chillax for a bit. Then, there was a knock at the door.

'Great. Now what?' He opened it, and saw Krystal standing in his doorway, still in her purple flight suit.

"Hey, Krystal. What's up?"

"I was wondering, if you and I could go out tomorrow and get you a new uniform."

"Uhhhh...new uniform?" Jim asked, puzzled. Krystal let out a small laugh.

"Well since you are one of us, you have to look like one of us, yes?"

"I guess..."

"Great, see you tomorrow." She practically skipped down the hallway, to her room. Jim shut the door, blinking in disbelievement a few times.

"What the hell just happened?" he asked out loud. He looked back at his laptop, and decided that, he wasn't quite in the mood for "300". He turned the movie off, and played the RahXephon series, instead. He was watching episode 19, 'A blue Friend', the one where Ayato's friend, Asahina, is a Mulian, and fell asleep.

The same dream, or, is it a vision again. He is now in the white void, where he met the being of light. He sees it, and floats lazily towards it. "Why is this happening to me? Why do I have this power inside of me?"

"You have this power...because of your bloodline." The being told him, without facing him. "My...bloodline? You mean...I'm part Ultra?"

"Yes."

"Are you...my ancestor?" It let out an amused chuckle, before answering.

"No. I am merely an extension of yourself, your power given sentience until the awakening process is complete."

"When I am fully awakened, what...will happen to you?" It paused before answering.

"My consciousness will cease to exist, after you have fully awakened. After you've awakened, your power will be completely open to you, completely yours to do with as you will."

"Who...is my..."

"Who is the Ultra who sired you?" the entity asked.

"Ye-yes."

"Hmph. You will soon know, my friend." If he didn't know any better, Jim could have sworn that, his Ultra self just smiled.

"When...when will I have this power?"

"All in good time, James."

"One last thing."

"What is it?"

"Call me Jim." he smiled, before closing his eyes.

He awakened, approximately ten hours later. The sun was rising, just outside his bedroom window. The time read '5:21', and the series was in its third run, starting with the 19th episode, where he left off. He put the laptop in sleep mode, not realizing that, he disabled the password block. He got up, and saw that he was still in the civvies that he put on last night. At that time, he decided to remove his clothing, and put on a pair of shorts, and a tan shirt. When not on a military base, he often found this to be suitable attire to do his morning exercises in, which consists of sixty sit-ups, and sixty push-ups. After taking a minute to stretch, he got into the push-up position, and started pumping. About half way through, there was a knock at the door, and he went to answer it. In the door way, was a young looking female white cat, probably late teens/early twenties, standing there dumbstruck at seeing Jim. Maybe it was the fact, that he was human, or that his muscles were showing through the tight fitting shirt, 'Or, maybe a combination of both,' he thought amusingly. She was dressed in a maid's outfit, so, he guessed what she was here for. "May I help you?" he asked, smiling.

"Hou-housekeeping." she said, finding her voice. He gestured her inside, still smiling. She came in, with a large bin waiting outside. She brought in several towels, and started to replace the old towels, with the new ones. Jim was resuming his push-ups in the den, so as not to be in her way. However, out of the corner of his eye, he couldn't help but notice a pair of white furred legs, standing in the doorway to the bedroom. He finished, and stretched his shoulder and arm muscles, showing off thier definition. When he turned to face her, she stared at him. He couldn't help but grin.

"See something you like, miss?" he asked, still grinning. She snapped out of her funk, and blushed in embarrassment.

"I'm so sorry! I just-"

"Relax. Not often that a pretty face sees me work out." She was blushing even more now, even under her facial fur, he could tell.

"Aren't you...the new Star Fox team member?"

"Mm-hm." he replied, still smiling.

"Well, uhm, uhm- good-good luck. I don't want you to get...shot down." "Where I come from, losing is no option." he replied, never losing his smile. She never lost the redness creeping into her visage.

'Better get her out of here, before she has a heart attack,' he thought amusingly. He walked towards the door. "May I see the young miss out?" he said, opening the door. She smiled faintly, and walked out, giggling slightly. Jim laughed out loud at what had happened after he closed the door.

Krystal exited her room, and was heading for Jim's room, when she bumped into a rather infatuated maid. "Oh, I'm sorry," said the maid, not quite there mentally.

"That's...alright." Krystal replied. She looked into her mind, and saw that the object of her daydreaming, was a rather young, well built alien lifting a mountain, who looks disturbingly like Jim. She let out an audible groan, as the maid went down the opposite hallway, slightly humming to herself. She made it to his room, and knocked.

Jim was halfway through his sit-ups, when he heard the knock at his door. He opened it, and saw Krystal standing there in the doorway. In place of her purple flight suit, she wore a purple shirt, with a dark blue skirt that reached her knees, and a pair of sandals. She saw the slight sweat on his brow, and figured out why the maid was so infatuated. The idea brought a slight smile to her features. "I take it your ready to go out, now?" He asked, sort of dreading what was to come.

"Mm-hm. But you can't go, looking like that." she said, gesturing to his work out attire. He looked down at himself, and smiled sheepishly. "Otherwise, all the girls we're going to pass, are going to faint when they see you," she replied, smiling broadly, while Jim had a puzzled look. "Can I come in?"

"Uhm...sure." He moved out of the way, and she walked in. She sat down on the sofa, and still smiled. "What's so funny?"

"I saw your handiwork, earlier. The maid looked like she was almost brain-dead, after seeing you." she giggled.

"Look, I don't know what her issue was, but all I did was open the door, and she looked like she was staring into a pair of high-beam head lights! And, she was checking me out while I was working out! I mean, seriously, talk about creepy." he gave a mock shudder. Krystal just laughed.

"Well, she has never seen a human before. Like I said, give them time, and they'll get used to you."

"I know. Ya mind if I go shower?"

"Of course." She replied. As he entered the bathroom, Krystal noticed that his laptop was ajar. She opened it, automatically bypassing the password lock, and jumped straight to his browser. His wallpaper, was that of Ultraman, using his trademarked 'Spacium Beam', on an alien that looked like a cross between a humanoid, and an arthropod of some sorts, with explosions happening all over its body, with the largest one happening where the beam struck. She smiled at the photo. 'His thoughts are full of him.' she thought to herself. She noticed something on his tool bar, and saw a traffic cone window, and moved her hand over the bare spot on the laptop, just below the key board, having learned to use such technology from Fox, she guided the mouse to the icon, and the tag read "RahXephon-19-Ticket to Nowhere/Blue Friend". Curious, she clicked it, and saw the episode starting up. Any human would recognize an anime when they saw one, but Krystal was not human. To her, this was as alien as Jim was to her when they first met. She placed the earbuds into her pointed ears, and heard the intro music to the series. It was in Japanese, the same language that Jim often spoke in, and it had English subtitles, so she was able to follow along with the song, reminding her of the one song that she listened to with the human. All throughout the intro, a giant mechanical human with wings upon his head, was seen. Krystal wondered what the significance of it was. The episode started, with the red vermillion mech getting as far away from Tokyo Jupiter as possible. The forcefield, reminded Krystal of the planet that she and Jim often visited, while he was training in the Sol system. The story centered around the boy Ayato, and his friend, Asahina, a Mulian who escaped with him from Tokyo Jupiter. She saw the mechanical human descend into a lake, and realized that it was an artificial construct. It appeared that, they were running from someone, as the scene often shifted to an older man with a photo of Ayato, asking people if they've seen him. What got her disturbed, were the cut scenes of Asahina, while she dreamed, and hallucinated. Each time, she would see herself, as another person, this one with blue blood coming down her head, and smiling evilly. The one that got to her most, was the theatre scene, where she dreamed the same person, and saw that it was wearing a type of head gear, and both of them had the blue blood running down thier fore heads, with Asahina scared to death. Later, as she writes in her diary, Asahina starts to wonder, if she really is a human. She wants to tell Ayato, but doesn't want him to hate her, for what she is. This made Krystal feel for the character, since she wondered if she was real herself, since Jim mentioned the game 'Star Fox' to her. However, she never noticed Jim coming out of the shower, with his cargo pants, and socks already on. He noticed her staring intently at his laptop, and went to see what she was looking at. When he saw what it was, he smiled to himself. He threw his favorite brown skulled shirt on, and watched Krystal watch the RahXephon episode, studying her reactions. When the scene of the dolem came to be, he noticed her ears twitch slightly, and when the RahXephon showed up, her eyes widened a bit, as if in recognition, or realization. When Ayato is entering the RahXephon, and promises to return to Asahina, Krystal felt that, Ayato reminded her of Jim, in a weird way. The fight scene between the two giants, brought tears to her eyes, though not because of the fight, but rather, because she realized who was connected to the dolem; Asahina was getting thrashed around, as if by some invisible assailant, while Ayato, in his RahXephon, was beating the dolem. But, what really got to her, was that near the end, she admitted to her love for him, and wanted to tell him everything, while Ayato thrashed the dolem, causing untold pain to Asahina, his eyes glowing red, promising to always protect her. When the death blow was struck, he looked over at the neon sign, and saw his name on it, he quickly looked back at the dolem, as it swelled, then exploded, realizing the terrible thing that he had done. And, all through out the clash, all of the neon signs and electronics, even the city itself, all displayed what the girl was writing in her diary, during her final moments in life. When the battle was over, her face covered with blue blood, Asahina smiled, tears in her eyes, and mouthed Ayato's name, before succumbing to the same fate as the dolem. When the episode was over, Krystal closed the laptop, and removed the earbuds, a tear forming in her eye.

"You know, that is the saddest episode in the series." She turned quickly, and saw Jim slightly smiling at her. "It's a terrible thing to think about, trying to protect the one you love, then finding out that you are the instrument of thier destruction." he said plainly, eyes closed.

"Does the series end...in a good way?" He looked at her, and saw the teary eyed look in her eyes.

"In a way, it does. It's more like... a new beginning, rather than an end." he said, smiling still. "I can give you the series, if you'd like. It's actually, one of my personal favorites."

"I'd...like that." Krystal replied, turning away.

"Uhmmm, weren't you planning on taking me somewhere?" She quickly turned his way, snapping out of her moment, and slightly blushed.

"Oh, yes, your new uniform." She left the hotel room, with Jim following behind her.

As they walked down the street, Jim had on his shaded eye-pro, partially to keep the glare of the morning sun out, but mostly to hide his face from the local populace. Krystal thought it was silly, but, it made Jim feel more secure, so she didn't say anything. "Remind me again, why must I go through with this?"

"So people will know that you are part of Star Fox."

"What's wrong with acu's, though?"

"Doesn't match with our uniforms." she said plainly. Jim shook his head in frustration. He felt that he was representing the Earth forces, and as such, should only wear the acu's. But, that's just him. They made thier way to a small tailor shop, with a hedgehog sitting in a lounge chair, apparently asleep.

"If I'm not mistaken, I sense the presence of an old friend," the hedgehog said, slightly smiling.

"As usual, Peter, your never far off the mark." Krystal said, returning the smile. The hedgehog opened an eye, and looked at Jim.

"Who's your new boyfriend?" he asked, with a laugh. Jim was caught off gaurd, and Krystal's smile only widened, as if getting the joke.

"This is Jim."

"Ah, the new guy." He got up from the lounge chair, and walked toward the young human. He looked at him, up and down, as if sizing him up. "So, what can I do ya for?" he asked, placing his hands together, smiling widely.

"Uhh, I was told that, you do uniforms."

"Only the finest here, sir." Peter pulled out a three ringed binder, from behind him, and handed it to Jim. "If you would care to browse the selection I have here." Jim flipped through the pages, looking for one that appealed to him. "Or, perhaps that you had something...personal in mind?"

"Yeah, if you had any data on Earth, I would totally go for it." Jim said, rather glumly.

"You may be surprised."

"Huh?"

"Flip to near the end." Jim did so, and found pictures of uniforms he was familiar with; Army style, Air Force style, Marine style, even Navy style. But, he found one that he thought would be perfect.

"I prefer this one, here." He showed the picture to the hedgehog, and the tailor's smile grew.

"Oh, that's a good one. I've been perfecting this one for months, and, I believe that I finally got it down." He turned to the shop, and shouted

"Gregory! Get the materials and shop ready! It's almost time for me to work my magic!" A squirrel's head peeked out, and gave a salute before returning inside, where clatter could be heard.

"Now, hold still..." He took out a measuring tape, and took down his measurements, even so much as getting a stool, just so he could reach Jim's shoulders. Afterwards, he put the tape away, saying

"Come back in a few hours, for the uniform." He ran inside, where both vulpine and human heard indistinct shouting, and clatter.

"Are all Cornerians this eccentric?" Jim asked. Krystal laughed lightly.

"Not all, but some."

After that little episode, Krystal led Jim to, what looked like, a type of mall. 'Yeah, like I didn't see this coming,' Jim thought. If this was indeed a shopping mall, he could guess what would happen next. After making thier way inside, Krystal dragged him to the nearest clothing store. Making a bee-line for the nearest dress section, Krystal started to rummage around. 'It never fails. Wherever ya go, people are often the same, may they be human, Lylat, or otherwise,' he thought dismally. If he knew the female behavior as well as thought he did, he figured that he was gonna be here for a while. He knew that when Krystal pulled out two similiar looking outfits.

"Which one do you think is better?" she asked. To Jim, they all looked the same.

"Uhhhhh..."

"You're right, definitely the one on the left." she said, placing the one in her right hand back.

'Oh God, please, kill me now...'

After the little jaunt, they went to a jewelry store, where the young human saw all the finely cut gems and precious stones that Lylat had to offer. Krystal was busy pressing her face against a glass case of sapphires, her eyes sparkling. 'Like an eight year old at a freakin' Toys R' Us,' Jim thought, rather in an amused manner. He wondered, if Fox had to go through such arduous torture. 'No man, dead or living, should be forced to go through such hell.' Krystal took no heed of his thoughts, so completely engrossed in the stones, that she may not even notice him slipping out.

"Don't even think about it," she said, not turning her gaze away from the stones.

'Of course, she'd hafta keep an annoyingly close eye on me.' he thought, rather dismayed. She kept her full attention on the stones, or rather, that's what it appeared to be. Jim wondered where the rest of the team was. 'Probably out of it, right now, since Fox and them went out last night. And Peppy, probably feeling the brunt of advanced age.' Krystal was still staring at the stones, when a clerk asked her if everything was alright. She asked him, a rather large looking beagle, if she might try on the bracelet she'd been eyeing. Jim rolled his eye, and thought that he'll never get out of here, not with Krystal trying on every piece of jewelry that catches her eye. 'Well, at least her taste in stones is pretty narrow, considering that she seems to be interested in only sapphires.' That's when Jim's mind started to wander. Whenever he got bored, his mind often kicked itself into high gear, doing all sorts of mental gymnastics, to keep him alert. He started to think about that story that he started, but never finished. It was about a deep ocean trench that had opened up, with a large supply of oil found inside. However, when the mining team arrived to collect it, they ran into something else; a prehistoric ecosystem, almost completely unaffected by time, was discovered inside of the trench. He was about to go into detail about the type of life, able to survive and thrive in that type of environment, when...his brother died. A little saddened by this, he decided that, he should finish what it was that he had started, if not for his dead family, then for himself. He was deep in thought, when Krystal decided to, finally, leave.

"Jim? Jim?" she shook the zoning out human, snapping him out of his personal world.

"Are you okay?"

"Huh? Yeah, I'm fine?" he said, slightly smiling.

"Let's go grab something, I'm feeling a little hungry."

"Are ya sure? 'Cause I don't think that the rubies or emeralds got your undivided attention yet." Jim said, in a sarcastic manner, smirking. Any other person would have gotten beaten to death by Krystal for making such a remark. But she knew the human well enough to know when he was joking, most of the time. "Hey, uh, what happened to the bracelet?" "Oh, it was too expensive." She leaned in close, whispering "It was practically stealing, it was so expensive." "Where I'm from, that's called 'high-way robbery'." Jim said, slightly smiling. She laughed at this, and they made thier way to the food court.

Krystal got a sandwich, and sides, while Jim got, what looked like to him, a type of oriental dish. As they were eating, Jim's mind, again, started to wander. As she saw Jim stare out into space, she accidentally picked up snippets of what he was thinking about. Usually, she doesn't probe, knowing that one's own thoughts, are the most privately owned possessions that anyone could ever hope to have, when she saw what it was that he was thinking about, she could not resist. What she read, though, shocked her. Jim was thinking about the nightmare visions he was having for the past month, visions of a dead Corneria City, and the dead and dying littering the streets, while he wondered them, dark clouds formed overhead, shooting lightning amongst eachother. He wondered, just what it was that this is supposed to represent; was Corneria supposed to come to an end, or, is this what would happen, should he not receive the power in time. Krystal, was speechless at what she saw. Not even the Aparoid invasion, which happened barely a year ago, did anything of this magnitude. This...this was devastation that she had never seen before. Except, maybe, her world of Cerinia. When Jim glanced at her direction, Krystal looked like she'd seen a ghost. "Krystal, are you...okay?" Krystal snapped out of her trance, and looked at Jim.

"Yes, I'm fine. Why?" she said, rather quickly, trying to recover.

"...nothing." Jim looked away, not making eye contact with her.

'Does he know that I saw what he was thinking?' 'Yes.' She gasped, as Jim did not make eye contact, but still responded.

'Do you often go through people's thoughts like that?'

'No. Usually I don't, but... yours was...intriguing.'

'How so? Does total death and devastation interest you so?' he communicated through the rapport, bitterly.

'That's not what I meant!' she defended. Tears were starting to form in her eyes, as she experienced what he went through for a month, without telling anyone, especially her. 'If you were having these visions, you should have told me. I could've helped you with them.'

'What could you do, I wonder, that could change a future that is already set in stone.' Jim got up, grabbed his unfinished meal, and tossed it into the waste receptacle. Krystal got up, and did the same, following after the young man.

'Don't walk away from me!'

'And why is that? You're the mind reader, you should know where it is that I am going.'

'Because, I still want to talk to you.'

'About what? You can't help me, not this time. This is my problem, and mine alone.'

"No it isn't!" she shouted at him, making him turn and face her. She had tears streaming down her face, and had an angry look. "It's not just your problem, not if I am involved, as well as everyone who lives here!" Jim continued to stare at the female vulpine. "Please, I just want to help..." she slumped to the floor, quietly sobbing. Jim made his way to her, and embraced her. The hallway was almost empty, just a few passerbys, and naught much else.

'Again, what can you do, to help me? I don't know where the visions are coming from. They just appear, and disappear on a whim.'

'We'll find out, together.' she communicated.

'I'm sorry, it's just I'm worried about what will happen if I receive the power that's supposed to awaken within me.' Jim said to her. Krystal simply smiled at him.

"Come on. Let's see if your uniform is done, yet."

They neared the tailor shop, where Peter was standing outside, as if waiting for someone. When he caught sight of them, a broad smile played across his features. "Ah, Jim. I got done sooner than expected! It is, without a doubt, my masterpiece, my opus, my, what you would call, 'Mona Lisa'." Peter said, feeling rather satisfied with himself. He took a bundle off of a desk he had outside, and handed it to Jim.

"The changing room is inside the store," he gestured inside. Jim nodded, and went inside. "I swear, I even amaze myself sometimes."

"What uniform did he pick out?" Krystal asked, curiously.

"A rather curious uniform, used by an elite security force, if I remember correctly. And, what's more, it's a Terran uniform. I figured a uniform, based on the ones from Earth, would make him feel more at home."

"If it's an Earth uniform, I'm sure that he'll like it. But, how did you get data on Earth?"

"Oh, the Space Research and Advancement Committee has records of Earth, going back as far as fifty years, I should think. I asked if they had anything on Terran uniforms, and they practically handed me the information." After a few minutes, Jim walked out, in his new attire; He wore dark blue denim pants, a dark blue long sleeve work shirt, a black vest like the kind Terran police officers wear, only it looked a lot less bulky, actually looking like part of the top it was meant to protect, unless looked at closely enough. There was padding on the legs and arms, but would have to be inspected close up, to be noticed. He wore a black cap, and had on his shaded eye-pro, and wore black fingerless gloves, and midnight strap-on boots. When he came out, he was adjusting his right glove, giving him the look of a rookie.

"Well, what do ya think?" Krystal made her way over to Jim, smiling widely. She adjusted his collar, like a mother would do, saying

"It looks great on you."

"Come, come, look in the mirror," Peter said, gesturing to a mirror, just beside his door. Jim looked at himself in the mirror, smiling at himself.

"I look like a member of a SWAT team."

'SWAT team'?" Krystal asked, tilting her head.

"The security force I told you about." Peter said, smiling.

"How did you get the info?" Jim asked. Peter told him the same thing he told Krystal. "So, you were monitoring us, eh?"

"Surprised?"

"No, not really."

"How does it feel?" Peter asked, never losing his smile. Jim moved his arms around, as if testing the suit's flexibility.

"Good, like, I'm wearing nothing at all. When I first put this on, I thought I was going to have problems moving around. But, it's so light and flexible..."

"That material is made out of a special cloth, developed by the boys at the R&D department. Light, yet strong enough to take laser fire at point-blank range, though, I wouldn't go testing it out right away." Peter said with a laugh.

"I think I'll wear this out, if ya don't mind."

"But, of course."

"How much?"

"For you, my young friend, nothing. For General Pepper, however, a 'pretty penny', as you would also say on Earth." Peter said with a chuckle.

With his civvies in a box, Jim walked with Krystal, in his new uniform. It was still early afternoon, with the sun high in the sky. After Jim dropped off his uniform at the hotel room, and switched back to his civvies, he imagined that Krystal still had plans for him. Turns out he was right. Krystal took him to all the shops and buildings that Fox had shown her, when she first arrived on Corneria. They even went to the park that Fox had taken her. They walked around for a bit, taking in all the greenery, and saw children playing among the playgrounds that were in abundance. Some of them even went up to him, never seeing a human before. When asked where he came from, he replied with a smile "Very far away."

"Do you ever want to go back?" one of the children, a male cat, asked. Jim then had a momentarily sad expression, before recovering, saying

"I do, but I can't. Not anymore."

"Why not?"

"Things...have changed so much on my world, that I don't even recognize it anymore. It's...not home to me anymore."

"That's kinda sad," a girl rabbit replied. Jim gave a slight chuckle, then replied with

"Not really, since, your home is where you make it." He looked over at Krystal, who simply smiled at him, and he returned it. When the children left, Jim walked over by a tree, and leaned on it, overlooking the green country beyond. 'This...will have to be my home now.' he thought to himself. Krystal put an arm around him. Jim smiled at her, and she returned it. "I don't know what the visions mean, but, as long as I know that I have a power that almost none can match, I will not let them come to pass, not while I still live." he said aloud, sounding not unlike one of the Ultras he idolized as a child. Krystal held him closer, knowing full well that he will live up to his promise, and that he'll have help along the way. That's what being a part of Star Fox meant. That you're never alone, that you should not have to stand alone, while standing with those you care about makes you even stronger. "Krystal, I just wanted to apologize, for the way I acted earlier. I'm afraid. Afraid of what is to come in the near future. Afraid, that, even with this power there will still be hardship, and heartache, waiting for me. And, I don't want you to be a casualty." Jim said, near tears.

"If we stand together, you don't have to be afraid." Jim looked at her. She beamed at him, and he returned it.

"Thank you, for being here for me."

It was near dusk when the pair arrived at the hotel. The rest of the team were already up and about, when Jim decided to check into his room for the evening. He was about to put on the movie "300" again, when there was a knock at the door. He answered it, and saw Slippy standing there, dressed in a grey turtle neck, and jeans, with his favorite red cap.

"Hey, Jim, feel like going out this time?"

"Actually, there's something that, I need to do, that I've been putting off for awhile."

"You know, being a shut-in's not good for ya."

"I know, but, this is important to me."

"All right. I'll tell Krystal that you didn't feel like spending time with her tonight."

"Isn't that what Fox is for, anyway. After all, they are, what, a couple?"

"I guess..." Slippy said, caught off gaurd.

"She'll understand. She already knows what I'm going to do."

"Alright, I'll tell her that." Slippy left, and Jim shut the door.

"Now, to get some long awaited answers." Jim said to himself. He turned the movie off, and sat in the middle of the den, cross legged, eyes closed in concentration.

Slippy met up with the others. "Where's Jim? Ain't he comin'?" Falco asked.

"He said that, he had something important to do. Something he's been putting off for a while. He said that you'd understand, Krystal." All eyes turned to her, and she simply nodded while slightly smiling.

'Hopefully, he'll find the answers he seeks,' she thought to herself. She showed Jim some meditation techniques, and he said that he'll try to contact the Ultra again to get some answers.

After concentrating, like Krystal had shown him during his training, he was once more in the white void. The Ultra was there, looking at him. Jim moved towards him, a determined look on his face. "Look, I need to know, here and now; what are the visions that I've been having. I should have asked this before, but, now, I really need to know. Are they predictions of the future, or a warning of what will happen if I don't act?"

"They show a possible future, in which, you may be responsible for creating."

"What!? Are you saying that, I'm the reason for Corneria's down fall!?"

"Not just Corneria, but the Lylat system as a whole. All will follow the same fate, if you permit it." Jim was dumbstruck; he had never known that, he would be the instrument of destruction. He looked down and tears fell.

"So..so you're saying that, everyone will die because of me? Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, Krystal, they'll all die, because of me?" The Ultra did not answer. "I DON'T BELIEVE THAT!" he yelled. "I don't believe that I'll kill them! It's not true, it's just not true..." The young man slumped to his knees, and sobbed like a child. After a few minutes, he felt powerful, yet gentle hands on his shoulders. He looked up, and saw the Ultra looking down at him.

"Do not despair. For, where there is darkness, there is always light. You are a firm believer in this fact. Nothing is ever set in stone, not unless you allow it. And, I believe, that you will never allow that vision to come to pass. As long as you draw breath, as long as you can fight, you would never allow your new friends to come to harm." Jim felt fresh tears well up, and the Ultra helped him to his feet.

'He looks so much like the first Ultraman that appeared on Earth...' he realized. For some reason, he never noticed it, until now. 'Maybe, that's because...'

"It is time for you to return to your own dimension. The power will be yours soon enough, as you will soon see...Jim."

Krystal decided to check up on Jim, after returning from dinner with the team. She brought Jim a to-go box, and wanted to see if he found what he was looking for. She used her own card-key to unlock his door. Even though the key was made for her door, specifically, the keys are programmed to work on other doors, in case there is a group, or an emergency. She entered his room, and saw him sitting in the middle of the floor, cross-legged, hands on his knees, eyes closed. 'He must still be in the process of gathering the answers he needs,' Krystal thought. She set the box down on the coffee table, and was only a few inches from the doorway, when she heard a familiar voice; "Ya know, it's rude to enter without permission like that." She turned, and saw Jim getting to his feet. He looked at her, and grinned openly. She returned it, asking

"Did you find what you were looking for?"

"Yes...and no."

"Not that simple, is it?" she asked, never losing her smile.

"No, it isn't." he smiled back.


	5. Awakening Completed Pt1

Chapter 5

Awakening completed pt. 1

Finally, his first mission. It may not have sounded like much, just escorting a supply vessel to a research station on Fortuna, but to him, it sounded like bliss. Probably having something to do with the fact that he was a soldier, Jim felt a pleasant wave of nostalgia wash over him. 'Finally, my training is going to pay off,' he thought to himself. Jim has done lots of escort missions on Earth, so this one did not seem to be much different, aside from the fact that they'll be in space. What got to Jim, was that the name of the ship was the 'Mon Kalari'. After the briefing from Fox, Jim decided to head for his room, to nab some last minute sleep. He didn't have to show up in the hangar for three hours, and he was feeling a little tired, for some reason. After crashing on his bed, in his new uniform, sleep found him instantly. He had the alarm set to go off at thirty minutes, before he had to show at the hangar. He fell to dream.

The white void, once again. Only, it wasn't as white this time. Instead, it seemed to have a bit of scarlet creep in. He found his Ultra half, his white aura a little dimmer than usual. "What's wrong? You look less, 'incandescent' than usual."

"My time is nearly up. Before the day is out, you will be in control of your own power, and, my consciousness will cease to be."

"Is that why it looks so...red... in here?" The being nodded.

"It is the result of the awakening. The void is now becoming the same color as your own aura. Before, it was plain white, a blank. Now, it is taking on the color of blood red; the color of your own blood, for it is now a part of yourself."

"What is this place, really?"

"You may call it a separate plane of existence, for this is where your consciousness will end up from time to time, once your power completely forms within yourself."

"I...see." The being turned to face him. Jim saw that the 'eyes', were also dimming, like, he was falling asleep.

"Jim, be aware; the mission that you are going to undertake, is not what it appears to be. I do not know what will happen, but, it may cost you something precious."

Jim awoke to the sound of the alarm, from his clock. He pressed the switch, and the ringing chime stopped. He sat on the side of his bed, and held his head in his hands. 'So, it's almost time...' he thought to himself. He nabbed his cap and shaded eye-pro, and headed out his door. He showed up a little earlier than the others, well, almost all of them; Fox was waiting beside his arwing, with him staring out of the force-fielded exit. He turned, and saw Jim approaching his own arwing

"Hey, Jim!" Fox shouted. The human had on his cap and eye-pro. He looked up, and returned Fox's smile, waving at him. He climbed into his fighter, and started to get the feel of his craft. His radio then went off, carrying Fox's voice; "I didn't expect to see you here this early."

"I decided to be a little...punctual...this time. It's what I was taught while in the armed forces on Earth."

"Just don't make a habit of it, or else, I'll start to look bad." Fox joked.

"No promises."

"And no worries." Fox answered, using the same pun that Jim frequently uses. The rest of the team showed up, ten minutes later; first Krystal, then Falco, and finally Slippy.

"Where's Jim at?" Slippy asked.

"Where do ya think?" his voice sounded over his p.a. system. He gave Slippy a two-fingered salute, and prepped his ship for launch.

After the team got into thier respective arwings, they did a systems check; "Everyone, report!" Fox ordered.

"Falco, here! Ready to fly!"

"Slippy, here! Go for launch!"

"Krystal, here! Awaiting launch sequence!"

"Jim, here! Eager to stretch my wings!" Fox let out a slight laugh.

"You'll get the chance, Jim." As soon as the signal went from red, to green, the arwings had a blue plasma flame burn steadily from the thrusters. Soon, the flame swelled, and the five ships launched from the hangar of Great Fox. Jim felt a momentary excitement come over him, then suppressed it, and locked it away.

'Now's not the time for me to get star-struck.' he thought to himself. They got into the classic arrow-head formation, with Fox in the lead. Jim was flying beside Krystal's wing, just a little bit behind her.

"Alright, people, our client should be here in a few seconds. The job, in shortened form, is that we have been hired to escort a supply vessel headed for a research station on Fortuna. They said that they had some special equipment that the science and research teams there desperately need."

"And I still say it's a waste of time. We're mercenaries, not 'rent-a-cops'!" Falco complained.

"What's wrong, Falco? Don't want to be a contributor to science?" Jim joked. "Just think; if this job is completed, they just might erect a marble statue of you in your honor." This brought a laugh from everyone, except Falco, of course, who merely fumed at the young human.

"Listen, bud, I really don't appreciate it when someone makes cracks at me fom the safety of a cockpit."

"Then don't complain, and I won't have a reason to, Falco."

"That a challenge, pal?"

"No. Merely, a fact of life, my blue feathered friend."

"Ohhhhh, that's it! When we get back on the Great Fox, you are so dead! When I'm done with ya, you're gonna be on the extinct-" Jim turned his radio to Krystal's frequency.

"Hey, Krystal. Fox said that the name of the ship was the Mon Kalari, right?" She thought for a moment, then answered.

"I believe so, why?"

"Wasn't there another ship by that name?"

"I don't remember. Why do you ask?"

"Nothing, just... curious is all." Jim said, a little bit spaced out. He remembered his first mission in Iraq;

He 'went outside the wire', in a humvee with several of his friends in the same vehicle. "Nervous, Howards?" asked the NCOIC(non-commissioned officer in command).

"A bit, Sergeant."

"Well, don't be. Things have gotten a lot more quiet, over the past few years. You should've seen this place two years ago. Hooh, boy, the place was a hell hole then. I remember, there was at least an IED(Improvised Explosive Device) threat every day. One time, I saw a humvee get blown at least a hunert feet in the air, and one soldier, miraculously, survived. The look on his face, was priceless, but what he said, was even more funny. 'Hey, sergeant! I think I pooped a little bit!' That was the funniest thing, I've heard all day. I swear, when I told the other NCOs, they nearly crapped themselves with-" Jim stared outside the window, tuning out of the senior officer's words. All he saw, was rocks, sand, and more rocks.

'How can anyone live out here?' he often wondered to himself. The town where they did the patrol, didn't look any better; just a few buildings, with a bunch of sad looking people, in a sad looking desert. 'My God. And we have to patrol this place?' When he and his 'battle buddies' exited the vehicle, they took up positions along the sides of the road, while the humvees went by, moving at the same speed as the soldiers. Jim kept his eyes open, scanning not only the people, but also the buildings. There were reports of insurgent activity in the area, and have been making themselves known for a while, now. They could be hiding any place, at any time, and they wouldn't even know it. At that moment, they heard the first shots, and the scream of the frightened people. All at once, the soldiers huddled close to the humvees, for protection. No one knew where the shots came from, all they knew was, they weren't prepared, they were new at this, and, they were scared. Jim looked past a soldier, and what he saw, made his blood run cold.

"Jim? Jim! Jim!"

"Huh?"

"Are you alright?"

"Yeah, Slippy, I'm fine. Why?"

"Nothing, you just seemed a little...quiet is all. Reminiscing, or something?"

"Uhh, yeah." Jim said, now back to reality.

"Remembering your training, or somethin'" Falco asked.

"No. Just remembering an old outing I had on Earth, when I was still an American soldier."

"Ahhh. The veteran remembering the good old days, eh?" Peppy sounded over the transmitter.

"You could say that, Peppy." Jim replied, with a slight laugh.

"And, I hear every word of it."

"Oh, come on! Is nothing sacred, anymore!?" Jim said, in mock anger at Krystal's comment. Everyone laughed at this.

'I swear, I'll never get used to that.' Jim communicated to Krystal.

'Oh, you will. Trust me, you will.' Krystal communicated, with a laugh. Then, a ship dropped out of warp-speed next to them.

"There's our client. Okay, people, Star shield formation, now!" 'Star shield' was a formation that was pretty much self explanatory; the arwings would take up a formation around the ship, with one in the front, two on the sides, and two in the back, looking like a star. The idea was, that in case of an ambush, the ship would be protected on all sides, and could peel off when need to. Jim took the left side, while Krystal took behind him. The ship was angular in shape, looking like an obtuse triangle, with large inverted wings, and a kind of 'bumpy' exterior, that made Jim think of the Mon Calamari cruisers from Star Wars.

"Star Fox, this is the Mon Kalari, inbound for Fortuna. You guys come highly recommended." It was a female voice, that did not sound un-attractive. Jim was able to see inside the cockpit, and saw that the pilot was, indeed, a female. A female wolf, to be exact. She saw Jim's ship, with him inside, and flashed him a smile. He returned it, thinking

'Why is it that every girl that comes my way, thinks I'm cute?'

'Might have something to do with the fact that you're a human.' Krystal replied through the rapport.

'Oh...joy...' he replied sullenly. 'That's all I need, every female Lylat going ga-ga over me, because they're 'humanies'.' Krystal laughed out loud at this. At that moment, he received a transmission from the Mon Kalari.

"I didn't know Star Fox had five members." the she-wolf commented.

"Yeah, uh, I'm new."

"And cute, as well."

'Oh God, please, just kill me now! Just please, end my suffering!' Jim thought, while running his hands over his face. Krystal couldn't stop laughing, and soon, the others joined in as well.

"Thanks. I, uh, get that a lot."

"Mmmm, I'll bet." she said, batting her eyes.

"So, you have a name?"

"It's Jim."

"Hello Jim. It's a pleasure."

"I'm sure." the laughter still continued. Most noticeably, from Falco.

'I...will kill that bird. I swear if he doesn't shut the hell up, I will cut his body in half with a hubcap!'

'I'm sure you will, Jim.' Krystal communicated, still laughing.

'Et tu, Krystalus?' Jim replied.

"Dude, this is priceless." Falco said, still guffawing.

"This is totally going on the web."

"Falco, if you so much as go anywhere _near_ that thought, I will kill you. I won't even be creative about it. I'll just take you out, in broad daylight, and shoot you in the back of the head in spite of the consequences!"

"Yeah, right!"

"He probably will, Falco. Just a second ago, he was thinking about cutting your body in half with a hubcap." Krystal said.

'Traitor.'

'Oh, you know you love me,' she thought, sweetly.

"Oh, yeah, sure. Jim, there is no way, in hell, that you can beat me!"

"Falco, shut up, or I WILL set you on fire when we get back to the Great Fox! Ya hear me. I'll be havin' me barbecued wings, later on!"

"Think you can back that up?" Falco said, no longer laughing

"You wanna match!? I got Chuck Norris, and Bruce Lee, waitin' for ya, right here, turkey!"

"What...the HELL..did you just call me?"

"Ya heard me, Turkey boy!"

"That's it man! I'm gonna wail on ya!"

"Yeah, 'gobble gobble gobble', to you too."

"Alright, enough you two!" Krystal said, sternly.

"Well, he started it." Falco said,

"And I'll finish it, chicken boy!"

"Jim, enough!"

"Dude, you are dead." That was all that Falco said, before signing off. Jim glanced over at the cockpit of the ship. The she-wolf was hiding her laughter behind her hands. Jim was instantly embarrassed by this.

'Great, now I look like an idiot to everyone.' he thought to himself.

"Do you normally go off like that?" the she-wolf asked.

"No, not really. Normally, this doesn't even happen to me."

"Well, I'm not that bad of a person, either." 'Did...she just hit on me?' Jim thought to himself.

'Sounds like an invitation, certainly.' Krystal replied, with a hint of a smile. The rest of the trip was, otherwise, uneventful. They reached Fortuna in just a couple of hours, and then, that's when things went downhill. As soon as they caught sight of the lush green world, Jim's sensor was picking up several smaller craft, on an intercepting course.

"Don't worry. They're just the security force hired by the research team." assured the she-wolf. Jim, however, kept his eyes trained on them.

They escorted them down to the surface of the planet, and were guided to a rather large landing pad. The transport ship took up half, while the arwings took up the other half. When the team exited thier fighters, the she-wolf left her own ship, and could be seen clearly; she was roughly a half head shorter than Jim's six-foot frame, wore a flight jacket that covered a tan shirt, that didn't quite cover her stomach, which had a scar on it, right beside the navel, with dark grey pants, and high-heel boots, that are just shy of reaching her knees. Her fur was grey, with her having a white face, and stomach, and her eyes were a fierce blue, which seem to never leave Jim. "Well, so nice to put a body to the face," she said, in an amused tone. Falco sniggered, and Jim shot him a 'Say a word, and I will set you on fire,' look. "If you'll just follow me, you'll reach the research center." she said, gesturing for the others to follow her. They walked for several kilometers, until they reached a large, dome-shaped structure, surrounded by smaller buildings, and fenced in. She walked up to a gate, just up ahead, and input a security code on a control pad. There was a loud buzz, and the gate swung open. As soon as they made it inside one of the smaller structures, they were met with air conditioned atmosphere, and shade from the hot sun, and humid air.

"Ohh, thank you lord," said Slippy. "I thought I was gonna melt." The amphibian was sweating profusely, staining his light green flight suit, and he was panting heavily.

"There's water in the fridge, if ya need it," gestured the she-wolf. The room they were in, appeared to be a type of lounge area, judging by all the seats, and screens adorning the walls of the place.

"Jim, want one?" Slippy asked, getting at least seven of the precious bottles of water.

"I'm fine, thanks."

"Strong, resilient type, huh?" the she-wolf said with a laugh.

"You've no idea." Jim smirked.

"Jim, stop trying to impress her. She already likes you." laughed Falco. He already chugged more than half a bottle already. Jim swallowed his gall, and took one of the bottles from Slippy, who had already drained one, and was working on another.

"By the way, my name's Clara," Said the she-wolf.

"Pleasure." replied Jim. As Clara left, Falco burst out laughing.

"Dude, you totally have a thing for her! It's written all over your face!" This time, Jim didn't bother to hide the fury in his voice, and put his face just inches from Falco's.

"I'm not going to deal with this, okay!? I'm not going to do it! I'm just going to stick your head in between the slatch of one of those chairs over there, and twist it, until it pops off like a little vegetarian, Chinese dumpling!" he shouted, face going red in rage. He stormed off to sit by himself, and took swigs from his bottle, while a shocked Star Fox team looked on. Only Falco kept his smile, having now found a way to torment the young man.

'Oh, yeah. I will enjoy this.'

'Falco, you are digging your own grave.' Falco turned to face Krystal, who held a water bottle to her mouth, and drank slowly, eyes closed. He turned back to look at Jim, then shrugged, and sat down on a chair. Jim pulled out his earbuds, and inserted them into his ears, and closed his eyes. He hummed to a song, while keeping his eyes closed trying to calm himself.

After a couple of hours, Clara appeared back at the lounge. Jim, Falco, and Slippy were asleep on the chairs, while Fox and Krystal stood next to eachother, looking out one of the windows. "The professor will see you guys, now." Clara said, in a neutral tone. After getting the other team members up, the Star Fox team followed the she-wolf into the dome. Inside, it was bustling with activity, as scientists, guards, and workers went to and fro to thier destinations. Jim looked up, and saw that the dome, was actually transparent, letting in the sunlight, and seeing the clear blue sky. They were led through the cacophony, and walked down a hallway, before stopping at a door, marked "Prof. Addleson, department of paleontology/archeology", in bold black lettering. After going inside, they found that it was decorated in a stereotypical scientist's office; geological and ore samples adorned several shelves, while jars of formaldehyde preserved the bodies and pieces of animal specimens. At a desk, sat a black haired pug, wearing a buttoned white work shirt, and neck-tie, looking over some documents. When he looked up, a slight smile played over his flat features.

"Ahhhh, so good of you to come." Jim noticed that he had something akin to a New Jersey accent. "When I heard that you were here, I was having problems accepting it, but seeing you, here and now..."

"Look, what is this about? We're not really big on house-calls, ya know." Falco's comment got him an angry glare from Fox. The pug, whom Jim assumed was Addleson, looked somewhat apologetic.

"Oh, of course. Where are my manners. In case you haven't figured it out, I am Johnathan Addleson, expert in the fields of paleontology and archeology." He got up, and waddled over to shake the team's hand. When he took Jim's hand, his smile grew, as if he knew something about the young man. "As to why you are here, I'm afraid that you were led under, slightly, false pretenses."

"What do ya mean?" Jim asked, placing his hands on his hips. He disliked being used in such a fashion, especially by non-military personnel.

"Well, while I do appreciate you getting the supplies here safely, what I really wanted was for your new member to have a look at something for me." All eyes went to Jim, who felt uneasy.

"Me? Why me?"

"Because what we have found over six months ago, just may interest you." The short pug waddled over to a table, with a sheet covering what laid on top. When Addleson removed it, The team's gaze could not be torn from it, and Jim's eyes grew to the size of dinner plates, his arms limp, his jaw slacked. Lying on the table, was a nearly perfect, well preserved, human skeleton. Missing a few bones here and there, the fossil was almost as tall as Jim was, if it were still alive. Jim moved closer to it, unable to comprehend what it is he was seeing. "No-no way…This can't be real…". The team, likewise, could not believe thier eyes. "This-this can't be real...no way...not in a thousand years..."

"Fifty thousand years, actually."

"What?"

"This fossil, according to carbon dating tests, show that the skeleton is in between fourty nine, to fifty thousand years old." Jim was stunned, his mouth hung opened, and his grey eyes stared at the pug.

"Where...where the hell did you find it?" The pug never lost his smile.

"In a recently discovered cavern, approximately twenty kilometers away from here. Inside, we found him, and several items and objects which we think belonged to him. The skeleton we removed, since it was already out in the open, but the items were lodged into the ground. We didn't dare remove them, for fear of damaging them." His expression became more thoughtful. "When I was brought in to identify the fossil, four months ago, I thought it was a hoax, when I first saw it. However, time made me change my mind, as I continued to study it and its previous environment." Jim hardly heard him, as he went over to examine the fossil. He heard snippets of the professor explaining that, after hearing that Star Fox's newest member was a human, he decided to try to get him over here, to confirm that the skeleton was legitimate.

"Then why not ask us directly? Why the deceit?" Krystal asked, rather annoyed.

"I didn't think that you'd go for it. Like you, I didn't think that humans existed either, until I saw this fossil, and found out about Jim." They looked over at the human, who was busy studying the fossil. He ran his hand over the bones, feeling every crack and gap, before picking up the skull, and staring hard at it. He felt, as if he should know whose remains they were, like he once knew the person. Then, the room, and everyone in it fell away, leaving him in black void, with him still holding the skull. He glanced around, and for some reason, not panicking, as if, he expected this. Then, the void became a bustling city square, with humans, dressed in what looked like Greek attire, went about their daily business. Jim looked at his hands, and saw that the skull was gone. He looked around, and saw that office was gone, the entire complex was gone. He was in the middle of a bustling, ancient city, populated by humans. He looked around, and saw children running, and laughing. However, it was who followed them intently, that caught his eye. Jim followed the young man, and when he saw who it was, he was frozen in place.

"Sheja! Put me down, you big bully!" The young man was holding up a little girl, who was laughing as the young man playfully threw her up and down.

"Not a chance, Kara! Not until you give me back what you stole!"

"I told you, I don't have it! Maren has it!"

"I know you better than that! Fine, let's see how high a little bird can fly." He tossed her up, while the girl squealed and giggled. This happened at least six times, before she said "Alright, alright! Here!" The girl pulled out a necklace, with a crystal attached to it, from around her neck, and handed it to the young man. Jim got a good look at his face, and saw, that he was a spitting image of himself; steel grey eyes, dirty blonde hair, an exact twin.

'This is...unreal...' he thought to himself. Was he looking at the memories of his ancestor? Then, a loud ringing sounded, and everyone halted in thier places. The young man and girl both lost thier smiles, and looked up, into the sky. Jim followed thier gaze, and what he saw shocked him; What was approaching them, was a giant flying form, and as it got closer, Jim could see the details better; it looked like it had large ears, dark brown fur, a rat-like tail, blood red eyes, and a maw full of needle sharp teeth. To Jim, it looked like an over-sized vampire bat. It landed just outside of the city. It opened its maw, and an unearthly voice sounded;

"Do you have my payment!?" An elderly man stepped forward, and addressed the creature, but what Jim saw, made his heart sink; the bat-thing stood at least fifty feet tall, and looked ready to devour the elder.

"We do not have your payment yet. Please, give us more time! We have enough problems as it is, without Kaiju coming here demanding sacrifice!"

"You dare mock me, little morsel!?" The bat thing snarled in contempt, as it had its wings folded across its chest.

"Fine, then watch your people suffer!" It issued a blood curdling screech, and lunged. People screamed and ran. The only one who didn't, was Jim's twin, the one named Sheja. He put the girl down, and had a determined look on his face. "Kara, go find mother,\ and hide with her."

"But, what about you?" He looked down at her, and smiled at her.

"You know what I must do. Have no fear, it is only a small one this time. Now, please, do as I ask."

"Yes. And, be careful." The little girl ran in the opposite direction, and Sheja, with his necklace in hand, ran at the monster. Jim was frozen in place, to do anything. Sheja's form started to glow, then, he yelled the words, that Jim never expected him to say;

"GAAAIII-YOOOOO!" All at once, his form swelled, to match that of the bat creature, still shrouded in light. He jumped, and landed a flying kick to the creature's face, knocking it back with a pained grunt. The creature rolled on the ground, before stopping. Jim saw what Sheja had become, and slumped to the ground, unable to comprehend it; Sheja, became an Ultra, and was staring down at the bat creature. His patterns, were red and silver, and nearly matched Ultraman Hayata's color scheme. He had his arms folded across his chest, and looked down at the monster. "Leave these people alone, or I will end your life, right here and now." the newly transformed Ultra-Sheja said, threateningly. The bat creature came to its feet, and shrieked once more, and charged. It locked hands with Sheja, and the two had a contest of strength. Try as hard as he could, the bat monster could not overpower the Ultra. The Ultra's hands tightened around the monster's, and loud cracking sounds were heard. The bat issued a terrible screech of pain, before the Ultra rolled onto his back, his foot planted on the bat's chest, and let go of its hands, sending the bat flying away from the city, where it landed on its back. It rolled all over the ground, holding its hands in agonizing pain, and screeching. Ultra-Sheja got up, faced the bat, and said "One last chance; leave, or perish." The bat got to its feet, and issued a final screech, before charging at Sheja. Sheja got into a stance; with his left arm placed horizontally in front of his right arm, which was vertical, the fingers straight, forming a cross. When the bat looked like it was mere inches from Sheja, a blue white beam shot out of the edge of the right hand, and struck the bat in the face. It froze in place, and the head exploded. The headless body took two steps forward, and fell forward. Sheja stood tall, and placed his fists upon his waist. The people issued a loud chant, yelling

"Ultra, Ultra, Ultra, Ultra!" Sheja turned to face them, and nodded. With a loud

"SHUWATCH!", he flew up into the sky, and disappeared.

All at once, the world fell away, revealing the black void once more. Jim got back up, and looked around. Then, the office, along with the Star Fox team, and the professor came rushing back at him. Fox, Krystal, and Falco were standing in front of Jim, worried looks on thier faces. "Aaaarrrreeeee yoooouuuuu oooooookkkaaaaayyyyyy, Jiiiiiiimmmmmm?" Krystal asked, her voice in a slurred, slow-motion. Jim chuckled out loud, then his eyes rolled up, and he fell, face forward, still holding onto the skull, as his world darkened. As he fell, Krystal and Fox caught Jim in between them, and settled him face up on the floor.

"Give me some room!" Krystal said. As the team backed away, she felt for his pulse, and found it to be weak. His head was burning up, and he was mumbling something.

"We need to get him back to Great Fox, now!"

"Right!" As Fox talked into his wrist-watch communicator, Krystal was hovering over Jim's body, a very worried look on her furry features.

'Please, Jim, hold on.' She pried the skull out of his hands, and tossed it away like it was cursed. It shattered on the ground and Jim's eyes shot open. Krystal was shocked at this, and placed a hand on the side of his face. His steel grey eyes had a wild, almost fearful look to them, as if he had seen the most horrible thing beyond imagining. "Don't worry. We'll get you out of here. You're safe." Jim pulled her closer to him, saying

"No I'm not. No one is safe...not from...him..." Then Jim's eyes closed, and he fell into a deep slumber. Krystal was wondering what it was that he had meant,

'Not safe from...who?' Then, she heard him mumble, something. It was barely audible, but she heard him say

"Don't go...please...don't go. I...can't face this thing...alone..."

"I'm not going anywhere. I promised to always be by your side." She said, placing a hand on the side of his face. A tear trickled down from one of his closed eyes, as he drifted to sleep.

He doesn't know how he got here, or even where 'here' even is. All he knows is, he is alone. He remembers he was in the family car, with his brother, and family, headed for California, thier usual summer vacation spot. He fell asleep, while listening to the cd player his father had bought for him on his birthday. And, when he woke up, he was here. He looked around, very frightened, and very alone. He called out for his brother, father, mother, anyone who could hear him. He was met with silence, and the occasional bird call. Fear creeping into his heart, he pulled out the one item that he had brought on his person, that he knows will calm him down; he pulled out the six inch tall, red and silver doll of Ultraman, the same doll he's had since childhood. He sat down on a log, and wept, keeping the doll close to his heart. "Hello." He whirled at the sound of the voice, and saw something that just about made his heart stop; standing ten feet away from him, was a little blue fox, standing on two legs, wearing a violet dress, tiara, and necklace. She was standing in between two large trees, and was wearing a friendly smile. She made his way to him, and the boy fell backward, trying to move away from it.

"St-stay back!" He shouted, voice full of fear.

"I won't hurt you," it said, in an innocent voice. The boy shut his eyes, fearing what was to come next. After tense long moments, he peeked an eye open, and saw the blue vulpine kneeling over him. "Why are you crying?" she asked, curiously. The boy brought a hand to his face, and it came away, moist. He quickly got up, losing his fear, and trying to act tough;

"I wasn't crying! I had..something in my eye." he said quickly.

"Do you live around here?" the vulpine asked. He looked around, and began to feel the fear of being lost once more. As if sensing his despair, she placed a caring hand on his shoulder. "It's okay, we'll find your way back."

"How...did you know..what I was thinking?"

"All of us can do that." she said, matter-of-factly.

"'All...of..us'?"

"Mmm-hmm. My tribe is not far from here. I was on my way to my 'secret place', when I heard you." She gasped, as if realizing something. "Are you the boy from my dreams!?"

"Wh-what?"

"Every time I go to my 'secret place', and fall asleep, I dream of a little boy, who looks like...you." The vulpine looked at him, up and down, as if studying him. He was wearing a red wind-breaker, jean shorts, tennis shoes, and a silver shirt with a dragon and a tiger on it. She seemed interested in the shirt, probably not seeing something like it before.

"Uhhh, what are you doing?" She put her muzzle close to his face, as if to kiss him. He fell back down on his rear, while she hovered over him, eyes closed, and was sniffing him, as if taking in his scent. After a few seconds, her green eyes shot open, recognition filling them.

"You are! You are the boy! I knew you'd come!" She embraced him in a tight hug, squeezing the air out of his lungs.

"Wait, but...I don't...know you.." he gasped. She let him go, and looked at him.

"You mean that... you haven't had the same dream as...me?" She seemed a little saddened at this, and seemed close to tears. The boy felt guilt, and tried to rectify the situation.

"Maybe...I did...but can't remember." Her eyes looked full of hope, and sparkled. "That's...probably what happened. I can't remember." He tried to smile, but, felt like he was failing at it. The fox smiled openly, and embraced the boy in another crushing hug.

"We'll help you remember! Come with me, my village is not far from here."

"Wait, I don't even know your name!"

"Oh. It's-"

"-Damn lucky to be alive, after all that." Jim's eyes opened to the sight of medical equipment, and a white room. He was lying down on a bed, and heard the voices outside. He recognized one of them being Peppy Hare.

"Are you sure that he'll be alright? When I brought him in, he-"

"Krystal, he's fine, though, it was a miracle that he's still with us. From the indications of his health status, he should've been dead before you even left the ionosphere."

'Dead! I should be...dead?'

"What was it? Wh-what's wrong with him!?"

"I don't know. When you brought him in, his vitals were, literally, running on fumes. Whatever it was, though, has left his system. Though, I wouldn't go in there just yet. Not until we are sure there is no possibility of contamination."

'Contamination?'

"When-when will we be able to see him?"

"I'll let you know, starting with you." At that moment, Krystal left the waiting room, leaving Peppy. He entered the room. Jim then saw that, he was in a special 'clean room', which was little more than a plastic container keeping him inside. He got up off of the bed, and made his way to the barrier. Peppy was standing just outside of it, wearing a concerned look.

"So, am I going to die, or what?"

"Well, so far, the tests show that I should just let you walk right out of here."

"So, what's stopping you?" he asked, irritadedly.

"Because, the tests also show something rather, interesting."

"Yeah, like what?"

"Your D.N.A. is changing, rapidly."

"-what?"

"Your own genetic structure is changing itself, at an impossible rate. For all I know, you could be breaking down at the molecular level. Or, maybe the general wasn't so crazy after all."

"What do you mean?"

"You'll find out, with time."

"One last thing."

"What?"

"Bring in my laptop, and its accessories, will ya? I'm bored as hell in here." he said, smirking. Peppy chuckled slightly, and left. Jim laid back down on the bed, and closed his eyes, trying to get the same dream as last time. Trying, and failing.

In the briefing room, the team had assembled, all concerned for Jim's well being. When Peppy walked in, All eyes were focused on him. "Well, based on the test results, I can safely conclude that Jim is well on the road to recovery. However, as a precaution, he is to be quarantined for at least twelve hours."

"Just so long as he's alright," Fox said. Krystal had a worried look on her face. "What about the skeleton that Jim was in contact with? Has it been destroyed?"

"As far as I know, they don't plan on destroying it."

"What!?"

"The professor has deemed it too valuable to be destroyed."

"But it almost killed Jim!" Falco shouted.

"Yes, however, others have been in contact with it, but with no ill side effects. Because of this one fluke, however, they are keeping it quarantined."

"'Fluke'? He could have died, Peppy!" Krystal almost shouted.

"But, he didn't. And that's what we should be focusing on."

"Another thing; why was he affected so heavily, while we weren't?" Fox asked.

"I don't know. It might have to do with the fact that he's a human. Maybe it carried something that only affects humans."

"Are we in danger?" All eyes turned to Peppy, who had a stern look on his face.

"No, I don't believe so. Otherwise, we would've felt its affects by now."

"When will he be ready for duty?"

"Give him about a day, and he should be good. Hell, he's rarin' to go now." Peppy chuckled. the others shared in the laugh, all except Krystal, who still looked worried. Fox noticed this.

When the others had left, Fox confronted Krystal. "Still worried about him?"

"Yes."

"I noticed that you have taken quite a shine with him." he said, smirking.

"It's just that, he's the last of his kind. You can't know haw hard that is on someone. I'm the only person that can really connect with him." she said, looking Fox in the eye.

"Sounds like you pity him."

"Maybe it is," she said, smiling slightly to herself, then returning Fox's gaze.

"You're not...jealous of him, are you, Fox?"

"Maybe a little. It's just that, whenever he's around, you get all touchy-feely, like he was your long-lost brother or something." Fox said, trying to find the right words. He knew that Jim does not mean to harm Krystal, but she was starting to keep an eye out for the young man, more so than usual. He just wanted to make sure that he wasn't going to do anything that would hurt Krystal for his own personal gain. "Well, maybe he is." she said, smiling at the thought. All the while, music could be faintly heard. "What's that?"

"Sounds like music." They exited the briefing room, and followed the melody. There were lyrics, but not in a language that they understood, at least, not to Fox. Krystal recognized it, and felt a slight smile creep across her face. They found it to be coming from the infirmary. They went in, and saw Jim, in the 'clean room', typing on his laptop, with the music going off. Fox couldn't get the lyrics, but it sounded like "Whoa, whoa, Dyna! Seigi nanda, Dyna! Hontou ni ai wa nanda? Uruturaman Dyna? Ohhhhh!" They both smiled when they saw him lipsync the words, almost perfectly. Jim was too engrossed with his laptop to notice them come in. Both were slightly bobbing thier heads to the tune, while Jim lip-synced. During a brief musical bridge, Fox tapped on the plastic. Jim looked up suddenly, and closed his laptop, looking embarrassed. "Enjoying ourselves, are we?" Fox asked, smiling.

"Actually, I believe I may be going insane, being trapped in here."

"Don't worry about it, Peppy says that in twelve hours, your free to go."

"Well, that sure as hell ain't soon enough. I feel like some sort of twisted lab experiment gone horribly wrong. Sorry about the noise, though. ROB said that the walls were sound proof, so..." he shrugged.

"I kinda liked it. Maybe you could give me the song some time?" asked Krystal.

"Uhhhhh, yeah, sure."

"Something wrong?"

"I don't see why you would be interested in it. It's not even in English. It's just the intro song to a show I watched as a kid."

"Yes, but, I feel that, somehow, I know that song, from somewhere." she replied, looking lost in thought. Fox and Jim looked at her, as if she were someone else.

'How could she feel that she knows the song? She didn't even know about Japan until she met me.' Jim thought, puzzled.

"Anyway, you'll return to duty tomorrow."

"Grand. I look forward to it." Fox turned to leave, while Krystal stayed behind.

"Coming, Krystal?"

"I will, there's just something I need to ask Jim first."

"Okay." He left the room, and Jim turned his head to face her.

"What's on your mind?"

"The first lyrics are 'What is Justice, Dyna? What is true love? Ultraman Dyna', isn't it?" Jim stared at her.

"How...the hell...did you know?"

"I...just did." she replied, uncertain. She left the room. He knew that she picked up the lingo a bit from reading his thoughts, but to nail the lyrics so easily, it just couldn't happen. Then, he remembered the dream. The one with the forest, and a blue vixen, roughly nine to ten years of age, around his age, when he went missing.

'Are they, connected, in some way?' he thought, uneasily. He simply sat there, contemplating all that had happened.

When Jim was finally allowed back on duty, he couldn't shake the feeling that he might have known the blue vixen from somewhere before. At first, he thought it might've been Krystal, but, that just didn't seem possible. He would've remembered meeting her before. Hell, he couldn't remember what happened during the three weeks he'd been missing. The family all said that, he just vanished, disappeared, right out of a moving vehicle, and that when he was found, he was wondering around aimlessly near thier house. When asked where he'd been, he said that he could not remember. the authorities have passed it off as amnesia, while certain 'experts' (which is what he sarcastically calls the UFO geeks), claimed that he'd been abducted by alien intelligences. The kids at school would never let him hear the end of it, calling him E.T., starchild, etc. And now, maybe he was starting to remember why he couldn't before.

Whenever Krystal walked past him, she always flashed him a smile, and batted her eyes at him. He often returned such gestures, before they became frequent; from the day he started training, till the present, like, she would always be the one there for him, when all others would give up. Is she...falling in love with me? He would often ask himself that question, always with the same answer; it looks like it. He stopped having the nightmare visions, even the Ultra was gone. But, he didn't feel any different. He felt like, himself. Maybe it was all in his head.

Thier next mission seemed more important; escort a V.I.P., to a conference on Zoness.

"And by 'conference', they probably mean 'raging party', right?" Falco's spirits were raised somewhat, at the thought of going to Zoness, which was a well known pleasure planet, rather than anything else.

"Who's the V.I.P.?" Jim asked.

"A senator's daughter. Apparently it's her birthday tomorrow, and we have been assigned to protect her."

"Next question: why are we bothering with this?"

"Because the pay is good, that's why. Ordinarily, I'd ignore it. But this time, thier offer was a little hard to refuse." Fox said, with a hint of irritation.

'Of course. Wave a big enough steak in thier face, and most dogs will be your best friends for life,' Jim thought, annoyedly.

'We're mercenaries. It's what we do.' Krystal communicated, also with irritation.

'Doesn't mean I have to like it.' Jim retorted.

'You don't like it, then go someplace else!' She replied in an angry tone. Jim exhaled sharply, stiffening.

'Care to tell me where, Krystal?'

'I- didn't mean it like that.' she replied, apologetically.

'No, ya did.' Jim retorted.

"Alright. Mission commences in five hours. See ya in the hangar." As the team left, Fox confronted Jim.

"Listen, I don't know how things were run on Earth, but here, we do not insult eachother like you did."

"First of all, tell that to Falco, since he's been giving me nothing but crap since day one. Second, I don't know what the hell you're talking about."

"I have a rapport with Krystal. I know what it was you communicated to her. I do have respect for what we do, and she did not mean what she said to you like that."

"Then what the hell did she mean it then? Every day, I am reminded that I am alone in this damned galaxy. I can't know companionship, friendship, or love like you do, since I have no other humans to express them with. I gave up on all those, the second I saw my world dead. Love, is dead to me now. And the second that she gets it through her head, the better off she'll be. I can't know the type of love that she wants to express to me! You are the one who should feel that! You're both vulpines, so it works! Me? I am a freakin' HUMAN!" he shouted, tears flowing.

'This is what he was keeping pent up? the feeling of loneliness?' Fox wondered.

"Besides which, it would never work. You're both a couple, right?"

"Huh?"

"Oh, come off it. I've seen the way you flirt with eachother. Your seeing eachother. I can't come between that." Fox shook his head.

"I hate it when people assume that we are a couple."

"Huh!?"

"Jim, come with me." He led the young human to his quarters. He saw, on a dresser, several photos of him and Krystal, happy.

"Yeah, I see them. So what?"

"Not those."

"What?"

"Up there." He gestured to over his queen-sized bed. There, he saw dozens of photos of Fox, with another female vulpine, this one, a light brown. In several, they often shared a passionate kiss.

'Is this...'

"Her name, is Fara Phoenix." Fara Phoenix! He knew the name. In the comics, Fara was Fox's girlfriend, and her father developed the arwing space superiority fighter, as well as the G-Diffuser system, which was said to be Fara's idea. But, that in the Star Fox comics. The games...

'The games were dead wrong.' Jim thought to himself.

"Then... Krystal is..."

"A good friend. When I saved her on Sauria, she did develop a crush on me. Then she met Fara, and learned about us. Understandably, she was heart broken. But I told her not to give up on love. That, there is someone out there for everyone. Now, I am telling you the same thing. Love... can find you in some of the most unexpected of places." He had a slight smile on. "When you came aboard, she acted more jovial than usual, as if she found a very close friend, which would explain why she trusted you so readily. ever since, I have noticed that she had grown rather fond of you."

"But...I'm..."

"Are you really so different from her? Love has no meaning, no reasons. It simply is. It exists. It lives, and it surrounds us. I don't think tha, Krystal would mind that you are a human. So long as you are there for eachother, I think that is all that matters."

"But... I- I always thought that- I was told-"

"That me and her were a couple. At least, that's what it said in the game, right." He said, with a slight smile. Jim was frozen in place. "She told me. I would like to know, how our experiences ended up on a game console, and what it is that you do know about us."

"Uhh... I-umm,"

"You don't have to tell me right now, but, I would like to know sometime." Jim was almost brought to tears. He also had grown fond of the blue vulpine. But, was afraid to express himself, all because of what some stupid game had been telling him for years. He felt like a complete fool for believing such garbage, when he should have gotten the information from the real deal. Fox placed a hand on his shoulder, smiling broadly. "Just remember this; you break her heart, I break both your arms and legs, got it?" He said, not losing that smile.

"Perfectly. Ya might even say that it's...'Krystal' clear." They both shared a laugh. "I'm...not sure...if I am ready...to express myself to her yet."

"Why's that?" Jim looked back at the photos on the wall.

"Three years ago, that was me with a girl."

"Before Earth died?" Jim shook his head.

"Before she broke my heart." he said with a sad smile.

"Well, I don't believe that Krystal is good at breaking hearts."

"I just want to know; what is it, that she does see in me?"

"Potential, most likely. Or, you could just ask her yourself."

He left the room, and headed for his own, when he stopped at Krystal's. He wondered, if he should go in, and tell her how he feels, if she rally does feel what Fox says she does. He inhaled, and exhaled. He will apologize, at least. He knocked on the door, and waited for a reply. He heard footsteps, and the familiar blue furred face poked out of the door. "Oh, Jim."

"Li-listen. I…just wanted to say...I'm sorry for the way I acted. You...didn't mean the comment like the way it sounded to me. I just feel so alone right now, and the only friend I have is you." She smiled openly, and opened the door more.

"Would you like to come in?"

"I'd...like that." Jim said, uneasily. He saw her room, and was half expecting this; It was decorated with Saurian and, what he thought, were Cerinian items and decorations. He saw her staff, resting upon her dresser, on a mantle. There were photos on her wall, the same ones that Fox had, of him and her. "Look. Fox said that you see something in me, that allowed you to readily trust me, without hesitation." She sat on her bed, legs crossed, having a knowing smile played across her face. "I'd like to know, what it is. Is it the power that I have inside of me, or is there something about me that you know that I don't?" She never lost her smile. "What's so funny? I'm opening my heart up to you, you know."

"Exactly."

"Huh?"

"For some reason, I've been unable to see what it is that you really feel about me. Normally, I'd be able to read you, like I was able to read your doll, but for some reason, it looks like you have a wall around your heart, preventing me access." Jim looked away.

"That's because...someone...hurt me once. Someone who I had known for years, and, all I was to her, was just another mark on her score card. She hurt me, and, I promised myself that I'd never feel that pain again." Jim felt tears well up. Krystal got up, and embraced him in a large hug.

"I would never do that to you. Ever. If you're hurting, tell me. I'm your friend, and I want to help." She pulled away, to look at the human, eye to eye and wiped his tears away.

"I'd like to tell you how I feel, but..."

"You don't have to tell me right now. When you're ready to open up with me, completely, I'll always be right here." Both held eachother for the longest time.


	6. Awakening Completed Pt 2

Chapter 6

Awakening Completed pt.2

The mission started, and all five members were in thier respective arwings. They waited for thier client to show up. Jim still felt that the mission was pointless. 'What's wrong with normal security? Why come to us?' He wondered. 'Because of our reputation.' Krystal replied, matter-of-factly. 'Still, I don't like it. It feels like such a... waste of potential.' 'You'll get used to it. Ask me sometime, about the mission to Katina.' she communicated with a laugh. 'I'll have to remember that.' he replied, smiling. Thier client arrived, and Jim was not surprised by what he saw; it was definitely one of the expensive pleasure cruisers he had researched, with its angular shape, curved wings, and colorful, smooth exterior, Jim was rather disappointed. 'I'll bet that she's a 'daddy's girl', just like the kind I had to deal with on Earth.' 'Did you escort them, as a soldier?' Krystal asked, through the rapport. Jim was getting more and more used to it. 'No. The kind I'm reffering to, are the ones I had to deal with in high school. Ask me about it sometime.' '_I'll_ have to remember that.' she replied, smiling. "'Kathrine's Zephyr' to Star Fox team. You will escort us to Zoness, and without incident, understood?" "Star Fox team to 'Kathrine's Zephyr', roger." Fox replied, in a diplomatic tone, but Krystal and Jim both knew that he was steaming on the inside, at being ordered around thus. 'See why I disliked the idea?' Jim communicated to Krystal. 'Unfortunately, this isn't the first time.' She replied, with a sigh. The trip to Zoness was rather uneventful. The team was spread out in a circle around the ship, not really expecting an attack, hired mostly as an honor gaurd. 'She just has us, just to show off how much cash her family has.' Jim thought, irritatedly. 'At least they're paying for us.' Krystal replied, listlessly. 'Could you please, leave me to my thoughts, right now? I'd prefer not to talk about this.' 'Something bothering you?' 'Yeah! I'm a trained killing machine, being used as like an expensive commodity! It's disgraceful!' he mentally shouted. Krystal stifled a laugh. 'That's the same way Falco acted on our mission to Katina.' 'Surprising, since Falco couldn't shoot for crap, even with his life depending upon it.' Jim thought, amusingly. Fox sensed everything through the rapport he had with Krystal, and couldn't help but smile himself. The boy reminded Fox of when he was younger; rash, arrogant, and a little over confident. Even though he has seen combat, if what Krystal says is true, he hasn't really lost his adolescence just yet.

"Are they in place?" "Yessir! The team and target are just now passing over Titania." "Excellent. Not only will we have a large check coming to us, but we'll also be able to settle some old debts as well." "Just so long as there's plenty of action, like you promised. I want to really test my skills." "Don't worry, boy. You'll get the chance, soon enough."

The team plus cruiser were just over Titania. The desert planet was a shining metallic color, as the sun was shining down on it. Having spent some time in the desert environment, Jim imagined that it would be little more than rocks and sand. Just then, his long range sensor just went off, signaling that there were unidentified craft nearby. He tried to get the IFF(Identify Friend/Foe) beacon from them, but were either too far away, or did not/would not transmit. Jim hoped for the latter. He switched comm frequencies to Fox's arwing. "Fox, I got bogies on our six o'clock, and closing." "What kind?" "Can't tell, thier outta sensor range, but thier size tells me that thier small... probably single-manned craft. Oh-oh, I got something. Getting ship I.D. now." The ship that was I.D.'d, just flashed on his screen, and Jim just felt his heart sink to his gut. "Fox, I'm sending you my data now. Please, tell me that isn't what I think it is." Fox recieved the data transmission, and knew that Jim's fears were not misplaced; only one type of ship was red/white, had four wings, and dagger shaped: wolfen. "Well, well. I see that you have a new member, Fox. Pity, you wasting your time on the welp." Jim knew that deep, menacing voice from holo recordings. "You never faced an American soldier before, Wolf! Don't expect me to go down so easily!" Wolf's lupine visage flashed across his HUD(Heads Up Display), bearing a toothy grin across his eye-patched face. "You know me, boy. But I don't know you. I like to know the names of the people I kill. And, did you just say 'soldier'?" Wolf laughed out loud. "What kind of a military would take in a worthless welp like yourself?" Jim felt his blood boil over. 'Why that miserable mother-' "What do you want, Wolf?" Fox shouted. "What I want, is simple, really. I want that V.I.P. that you're escorting." "Nandaiyo!" Jim exclaimed the Japanese term for "What was that!" "I was hired by one of her father's enemies to bring her in, and they paid, generously, for you to stand in my way. However, if I had known that I was going to run into you, I would've taken the job, for free." "Hmph! Pity, them wasting they're money like that." Jim forgot he left his comm on, and Wolf did not take kindly to the remark. "I'll make you pay for that one, boy!" "Over my dead body, Wolf!" Fox shouted. Soon, both squads broke off to engage in dogfights. Jim, with Krystal on his wing, took on two wolfen. A voice purred over his head-set, and he recognized who it was; "It would appear that you have another person who wants to be the center of your affection, dear Krystal. If I remove him, perhaps, you will have eyes only for me." "Panther, leave him alone!" 'So, this is Panther, eh? His profile said that he was a decent pilot. Let's see how decent.' Jim angled his arwing in a head-on duel between him, and his opponent. Then, he saw the other wolfen pop up behind him, probably hoping that he'd be too busy to notice. Jim pulled up, just in time to evade a pair of scarlet bolts. He looked back, to see the wolfen after him. Then, a voice he did not recognize sounded over his headset; "I'm your opponent, 'soldier boy'!" The voice sounded young, and full of arrogance. "And who, praytell, are you?" "My name, is Rigger. And my name, is synonomous with 'death'." 'Definitely a noob.' Jim thought. If the pilot was gloating like that, he'd have to be either really good, or a rookie, and Jim was betting on the latter. Laser bolts danced around him, while he dodged and juked out of thier way. He glanced back, just in time to see Krystal take a shot at Panther. He smirked, then focused back on his own situation. He continued to dodge the bolts, then decided to try something; He pulled his arwing up ninety degrees, suddenly, and cut the power for a split second. He saw the wolfen fly beneath him, with the words "What the-" sounding. He quickly turned everything back on, and pursued his adversary. He was right behind him, and he let loose a nova bomb, which detonated right beneath him. "Krystal, you alright?" "Yes, just took som pot-shots from your opponent, before finishing Panther." "Speaking of which, how's you admirer/stalker doin'?" he asked, with a smile. "He won't be bothering me for a while." she replied. He flew right beside her, and flashed her a thumbs-up, smiling. Krystal returned the gesture. "Alright, let's back up Fox, and pray that nothing else happens." "Right, I'm right beside you!" "You always are, love." Krystal blushed for a moment at the remark. Then, Jim felt it once more, like what he felt whenever he was near Fox, when he was possessed bythe Dark Breed, like 'an alarm?' "Krystal, WATCH OUT!" "Wha- ahhh!" Krystal was hit from above, while Jim rolled out of the way. "Krystal! Are you okay!" "I-think so. Just took a nasty hit. My shields are almost gone, though." "Fall back. If your shields are depleted, I don't want you to become a casualty." "Do not, underestimate me, Jim." she replied, slightly growling. "You let the girl and boy beat you two? Worthless scum!" Wolf was after them, and he sounded pissed. "Pick on someone your own gender, Wolf!" Jim was enraged at Wolf. True that he didn't want Krystal to get hurt or worse, but the thought of losing her, just seemed unbearable. 'Why do I feel this way? No, I have to focus!' " The noob was a decent pilot, Wolf. In fact, I'd say he rivaled you in skill." The taunt definitely got his attention. "Leon, take the girl! The little runt-bastard is mine!" Wolf snarled. "Yessir!" Jim recognized the high-pitched, mechanical sounding voice, Leon Pawolski, the chameleon lizard was Wolf's right hand man, and top ace of Star Wolf, said to be second, only to Wolf himself. "Anyone out there!" Jim sounded on all frequencies, as he dodged Wolf's shots. "Fox, here. He got my wing. I can't make it in time. Sorry, Jim." "Anyone else!" He was growing desperate, and the sound of static over his headset was less encouraging. He felt his ship rock slightly, and knew that he took a hit. His shield meter just dropped a full qaurter. "Sa-maaa!" Jim cursed. He did a barrel roll, that deflected most of the bolts, and did a u-turn, Flying over wolf, to aide Krystal. She was dodging his bolts, but he knew that won't last long. He locked onto Leon's wolfen, and fired a charged blast at him. It hit, taking down his shields. He locked a nova bomb onto him, and fired. The attack took out a wing. Not really a critical hit, but it did make the reptile back off. He glanced over at Krystal's ship, and flashed her a smile. She returned it. He knew that both of the wolfen would be upon him soon. "What a pain! Leon, forget the girl! Let's take this bastard out!" "Yessir!" Soon, both ships converged on the arwing, and Jim led them on a merry chase, doing rolls, turns, anything he could think of to keep his opponents off balance. "Jim! Please, hold on, I'm on my way!" Krystal sounded. "Yoooossshhhh! IKZUUU!" Jim shouted excitedly. He took out his earbuds, and put on his music, getting his blood pumping. He was now doing daredevil stunts that most pilots would not attempt, stunts that he didn't even know how to do, but he knew, all the same. He was listening to the Ultraman Dyna intro, the full version, and it was getting him excited. "Damn! Won't this kid hold still!" " What's wrong, old man? Feeble in your old age?" "Now, you are dead!" Wolf practically roared. Krystal was right behind them, firing shots of her own. The song ended, and the full intro of Ultraman Tiga played. Krystal heard the music through the rapport, and she knew of its effects on Jim. 'Why is it getting him so excited?' Jim pulled his arwing up, suddenly, spinning around. Wolf and Leon followed after him, with Krystal close behind. Soon, both ships were going straight up. His shields nearly gone, Jim quickly turned his ship around, the music getting his blood boiling, and was heading straight for Wolf's and Leon's ships. Suddenly, he let loose a nova bomb, his last one, and pulled away. It detonated right in front of Wolf and Leon, and both disappeared in the ensueing blast. "WHOOOOO! Simper Fi, assholes!" Jim shouted, excitedly. Just then, warning lights sounded, indicating that he just lost his thrusters. Evidently, they were'nt meant for the kind of stresses that he put them through. Soon, he was pulled in by Titania's gravity, of which none of the pilots did not even notice. Jim angled his arwing into re-entry with the planet. 'If I can't fly, I might as well land,' he thought. "Jim, what in God's name are you doing!" Fox sounded. "My thrusters are gone. I'm gonna try a controlled crash-landing on Titania." "That's insane! You'll be killed!" Krystal shouted. "I was already in her pull when my thrusters went out. Don't worry, I'll be fine." "NO YOU WON'T!" Wolf roared. Along with Leon, both wolfen converged on the arwing. "JIM!" "I see 'em, Krystal. So, think you're brave, eh Wolf?" All three ships were in re-entry, turning red in the process. Jim knew that the arwing could handle it, but wasn't sure about the wolfen. "Jim, pull out! Please, PULL OUT!" Krystal was nearly hysterical. Jim saw her through the rapport that they shared. "Krystal, don't be sad. I'll be alright. This is... my destiny." "NOOOO! Please, don't leave me! I loved you, and still do! I promised to watch over you!" "Krystal..." "Please, don't do this to me! Please, pull out!" "KRYSTAL!" "'gasp!'" Jim had a gentle smile on, and said, in Japanese "Sayonora, Krystal-chan. Arigato," before switching off his head-set. In her arwing, Krystal could not stop crying. One of the few people that she has loved, now faced destruction, and she was powerless to help. She wept openly ,tears running down her face. As the ships entered the planet's atmosphere, Jim could've sworn that he saw his ship, glowing a scarlet aura, though not exactly from re-entry, and he blacked out.

When he came to, he saw that he was lying on the desert floor that was Titania. He looked around, sitting up suddenly. He saw the crater where his arwing was in. "How'd I get out here!" he nearly shouted, getting to his feet. He checked himself, and saw that nothing was broken. He took his wristwatch/communicator, and tried to comm a certain blue vixen, whom he knew will be overjoyed at learning his fate.

In her arwing still, Krystal could not help but feel hollow. Her tears have been spent, she had none left for sorrow anymore. 'Why? Why did he leave me like that?' she wondered, sadly. "Houston, we have a problem, repeat, we have a problem!" She knew that voice, all too well, and hoped that her distraught mind was not playing tricks on her. "Ji-Jim!" "No, it's Idi Ameen. Of course it's me! Could you send a tow truck, or something, my arwing just got totalled. And by 'totalled', I mean 'beat to crap'." "Of course! Don't move, don't do anything, just stay right there!" "Where the hell would I go, love?" he asked, laughing slightly. Krystal laughed as well, tears streaming down her face. She may have none left for sorrow, but had plenty for happiness, as she raced for the human, homing in on his signal.

Jim made his way to the crater, and saw what remained of his arwing. It didn't even look like an arwing; it was blackened from re-entry, half of a wing was gone,and the once sky-blue G-diffuser wing attachments were all but burned clean off. 'No way in hell am I flying out of here in that,' he thought to himself. He pulled out his earbuds, and listened to some music. He wondered where Wolf and Leon were. 'Probably on another part of the planet, or burned up in re-entry.' He hoped for the latter, but doubted it. About ten minutes later, he heard the tell-tale sound of thrusters over his mp3, and saw an arwing land several meters from the crater. When it landed, he put his earbuds away, and saw the occupant climb out, seeing the tears stream down her blue furred, vulpine face. He couldn't help but smile openly. She bolted at him, and tackled him to the ground in an embrace, this one nearly crushing the life out of him. He felt her lips pressed against his, in a display of unbridled emotion. After several seconds, she pulled away, tears streaming down, and landing on his face. When she spoke, her normally liquid sounding voice was breaking; "Don't you _ever do that_ again! Ever! If I had lost you..." She was unable to finish, and simply rested her head upon his chest, listening to his heart-beat. "You won't lose me. I'll always be with you, Krystal-chan." She still had tears left, as they fell from her face, and onto his rising and falling chest.

He didn't know how long they laid there, but he knew that, sooner or later, they'd have to leave. "Uhh, I know that this is a heart-warming moment, but, can I get up?" "Hmm? Oh!" She got up quickly, her face going red. She looked at him, eye to eye, and said, voice still trembling "I will never let you out of my sight." She embraced him, saying over and over, "Never again, I'll never lose you again..." At that moment, Jim realized, that, no matter what, she will always hold him in a special place in her heart, it just took a near-death experience for him to see that. Maybe, just maybe, he could... "Krystal... there's something that, I want to... tell you." "Yes?" she said, looking at him, eye to eye once more. "I..um, I'd..like to-" He felt it. The same sensation he got from Fox, when he was possessed by the Dark Breed. At that second, he heard the tell-tale 'cha-chik', of a blaster being set on different levels. "Krystal, GET DOWN!" He shoved her to the ground, while an excruciating pain lanced itself across his shoulders. He gave a pained shout, and fell to the ground, placing a hand behind him. Instantly, he thanked God for the vest. "NOOOOO!" Krystal ran over to Jim, and looked at scorched fabric, and reddened flesh. Jim turned himself over, to face Krystal once more. She was smiling again, thankful that her friend was still alive. "Damn, I was aiming for his head." He knew that voice. They both faced the direction of where the voice came from, and saw Wolf and Leon standing upon a mound, both lupine and reptile had blasters drawn. Krystal pulled out her staff, extended it to full length, twirled it, and struck a pose, lips curled into a snarl, her ears back, and eyes burning fiercely. Suddenly, Jim was glad to be on her side. "Leave us alone!" she growled. Jim took out his nine-mil, and took aim at Wolf's head, the action taking less than seconds to perform. Wolf merely chuckled at this. "Awww, how adorable. The children, would like to play with us." "Indeed, sir. Should be quite fun." the chameleon sounded in that high-pitched maniacal voice of his. They both took aim, and fired at the pair. Jim braced himself, but saw the bolts stop in thier tracks, halted by a blue wall of energy. He glanced over at Krystal, who had stuck her staff into the ground, erecting a blue force field around them. She looked in his direction, and nodded. Jim took aim at Leon, and fired several shots at him. They exited the barrier, and struck the chameleon dead center of the chest. The did not penetrate the suit all the way, but he bet that it stung like hell. The rounds even knocked him off his feet. Wolf snarled in rage, and charged at them. Jim emptied his clip at the maddened mercenary, but the rounds merely bounced off of his flight suit. He crashed against the forcefield, and was soundly repelled. Jim chanced a look at Krystal's direction, and saw the vixen start to tire, sweat coming in droves, her breathing was heavy. Wolf was getting ready for another dash. Jim dropped his empty clip, and grabbed another one. Wolf crashed through the force field, just as Jim inserted the clip. He tackled the human as he got off a wild shot, and slammed him to the ground. Wolf extended his claws, each one the size and length of his middle finger, and was going to rip his face off. Just then, Krystal gave him a solid whack on the head with her staff, sending the merc back. She stood over him, never losing her snarl. "Leve...him...alone..." she growled. Then, Wolf was upon her, before she could react, his hand was on her neck, crushing her windpipe. She knew that it would be seconds before she lost conciousness. "Hiyaaaahhh!" Jim executed a flying kick, that landed in the middle of Wolf's back. Startled, he dropped her, and whirled to face the human. He was met with a spin-kick to the face, then another, and another, making him step back away from them. Standing over Krystal, Jim got into a combat stance of his own. He was going to show Wolf what it means to have a blackbelt in karate, just like he had shown Fox and Falco, several times. "Come near her again, and I will kill you, douche bag." Krystal looked up, and felt relief fill her body. Wolf looked at the young human, amused. "Have some spirit left, eh? Good." He extended his claws again, taking his own combat stance. "Come on, come at me!" Jim rushed to meet the challenge, head-on. Wolf slashed with his claws, that Jim either dodged, or blocked, countered with a move of his own. However, while Jim had skill, he lacked the force to do any real damage. Wolf had that protective flight suit, and also his own well built physique. Wolf, however, could not easily land a blow on the young man, who dodged, blocked, kicked, punched, or chopped at his form. Jim was forcing Wolf back, which appeared to be his goal. Wolf tried to land a slash, but Jim cartwheeled out of the way, came up, blocked a kick, and planted one of his own in Wolf's gut, this one making him slightly double over, and delivering a solid spin kick to the face. Wolf stumbled back, and snarled at the human, blood trickling down his lower lip. Jim glared at the Lupine, never taking his eyes off of him. With a roar, he charged at Jim, who summersaulted out of his way, and came back up in his combat stance, in a kneeling position, ready for anything. Wolf lowered his arms, and smiled a toothy smile. Jim tilted his head to one side, puzzled. He gestured to behind the human. Jim turned, and to his horror, found Leon holding a dagger at Krystal's neck, the blade nearly puncturing the skin. Jim turned his head back to Wolf, who laughed maniacally, with Leon joining him. "So tell me, who will protect, the protector?" Jim got the idea, and lowered his arms, awaiting for what was to come. Wolf did not go easy, he assaulted the young man every which way, albeit a slash, punch, kick, etc. all over his body. "Nooo! Leave him alone, Wolf!" When Jim's form crashed to the ground, he unsteadily got back up, covered with bruises and wicked lacerations. When Wolf heard Krystal's shout, he struck the human in the gut, doubling him over, and floored him with a hammer-drop. He grabbed Jim's head by the hair, and said "You will watch this," with an evil grin, and slammed his head back into the ground. He walked over to Leon and Krystal. "I've got the little kit, Leon." The chameleon backed away, as Wolf grabbed her by the neck, and forced her to her feet. He then slammed her body against Jim's wrecked arwing, and held her there. As she fought against his grip, he extended his claws again, and tore the top half of her flight suit, exposing much of her upper body. She screamed, and Wolf laughed. "Let her go, you BASTARD!" Jim shouted. Jim tried to stand, but his body was sore all over. When he finally got to his feet, he lost his balance, and fell to a knee. Wolf guffawed at this. "I can smash your body, and crush your bones, but seeing her like this will break your spirit," he turned his gaze back to Krystal, "and her luscious body." He felt his libido going, and Krystal gagged at what he planned to do to her. "I'm going to enjoy this." he said, licking his lips, hungrily. 'Where is that power? I NEED IT NOW!' Wolf raised his clawed hand, and was about to bring it down, and remove what was left of Krystal's top, while she cringed. "KRYYYSTAAAAALLL!" Time seemed to have frozen, as Wolf held his arm up, and Krystal still cringed, while Leon smiled maniacally. Then, Jim saw a light beside him. Still kneeling, he looked up, and saw the Ultra, most likely for the final time. "You have now called upon your power for the first time. Now, use it, to protect the person, whom you hold closest to your heart. Farewell... Jim-kun." The being was dissolving into light particles, all of which entered Jim's body. As they entered his form, he felt the pain leave his body, replaced by new vigor, and warmth. He rose to his feet, and Yelled the words that flowed out of his mouth as easily as breath, "GAAAAIIIIIII-YYYOOOOOOO!" There was a mighty flash of crimson, and Jim turned into a ball of light, and flew at Wolf. When the Lupine saw him, he was frozen in place from shock. The light hit him, and sent him flying. It stopped in front of Krystal, and took shape; it was humanoid, with musculature present all over its body, and a sense of overwhelming power eminated from it. When the light was absorbed by the being, what she saw made her jaw drop; standing in front if her, was an Ultra. It looked almost exactly like the one that saved Fox from the Dark Breed, except for a slightly different color scheme, including 'briefs', instead of 'shorts'. When it looked at her, she saw that the 'eyes' were not shining gold, but were instead glowing a sky-blue color, the same color as the light that glowed on his chest. She looked into the eyes, and felt the person behind the mask-like visage. "J-Jim?" the entity nodded. She smiled, and collapsed. "Who the hell are you!" Wolf shouted at the Ultra. 'Jim' turned his metallic head, and addressed Wolf in a slightly distorted voice. "My name, is Ultraman." "What are ya, a third-rate power ranger, or somethin'?" 'Jim' did not answer the taunt, instead, he got into his battle stance. Wolf had had enough, and charged at the Ultra, claws fully extended. Both combatants locked hands, and it became a contest of strength. Neither gave the other an inch of ground, then, 'Jim' tightened his grip, and the sound of bones cracking could be heard, and Wolf's wail of pain was far louder. The ultra delivered a swift kick to his gut, that sent the lupine flying right into Leon. Both of them stared at the red and silver warrior of light. "Let's waste 'im!" After popping his fingers back into place, Wolf got out his blaster, as did Leon, and started firing scarlet energy bolts at the Ultra. Krystal gasped, but the ultra placed his fists on his waist, as the scarlet bolts were harmlessly deflected off of his body. Both reptile and lupine could only stare in shock, at what they had just witnessed. "Wh-what in God's name...are you?" Wolf asked, in shock. "I am the embodiment of justice. Now, feel my light!" He threw his right arm straight up in the air, where light and energy seemed to gather around it. After a few seconds, he swung his arm down, shouting "_Speciummu_..", then, he brought his left arm, horizontal, in front of his right arm, verticle, both had the hand and fingers outstretched, forming a cross shape. As soon as he did this, , he shouted "_Kousen_!", and a blue/white beam erupted from the edge of his right hand. The beam struck the ground where the mercenaries were standing, and were sent flying by a huge explosion. They flew about fifty feet away, and rested upon the ground, thier forms still. 'Jim' shook a fist in triumph, while Krystal tried to rise. The Ultra turned to her, and she froze in place. He moved towards her, and she tried to back away. "Do-don't be afraid.." he said, gently. "It-it's just me." She looked into the eyes once more, and saw Jim, smiling, behind the metallic visage. She returned the smile, no longer afraid, and stood up. When she did, he looked away, covering the side of his face, especially his eyes. Puzzled, she looked at herself, and saw that her breasts were showing through her torn flight suit. Blushing, she tried to cover up with both arms, and was turning a bright red, even under her fur. 'Jim' turned to her, and placed his hands just inches away from her bare upper body. Krystal backed off. "Please, trust me." he said gently. For some reason, she felt like he could. Then, golden light swirled from his open palms, and covered the torn upper body of the suit. In moments, the suit was repaired, with no sign of the damage done to it. She looked at herself, then at the Ultra. a swirl of golden light enshrouded his own form, and when it disappated, Jim was standing there, his wounds healed, and damaged suit also repaired. He was wearing that warm smile that Krystal had gotten to know. Then, his eyes rolled up into his head, and he fell forward, exhausted. Krystal caught the young man, just before he hit the ground. She sat there, shaking him, trying to wake him up. His steel grey eyes flashed open, and rested upon the blue furred visage he had come to know, oh so well. He placed a hand on the side of her face, and she put her own hand on top of his. "The awakening... is complete?" He nodded, gently. Then, she buried her face in his chest, promising to never let him go.

On board the Great Fox, the team was gathering around the pair, especially Jim, who had seemingly returned from the land of the dead. After about several times of telling the same thing, about him crash landing on Titania, and being picked up by Krystal, did they decide to give him some breathing space. The pair didn't tell them about Jim's transformation, since they did not need to know at the time, and they had no proof. Later that night, Krystal was in her room, looking at one of the photos of her and Fox. Lost in thought. When he saved her on Sauria, she developed feelings for the vulpine. However, upon learning about his girlfriend, Fara, she felt those emotions die inside of her. Now, along comes Jim, seemingly out of nowhere, and stirs to life those old feelings. 'Why, do I feel this way about him. Ever since I first met him on Earth...' there was a knock at her door. Clad in a tank-top and shorts, she walked to answer it, and saw Jim standing there, as if hearing her thoughts about the young human. "Oh, hi Jim." she said, smiling. "Can... I come in?" "Of course." She stepped aside, to allow the human to walk in, seeing him in an 'ARMY" grey shirt, and black p.t. pants, his usual relaxing attire. "Listen, back on Titania, there was someting that... I needed to tell you. I wanted to tell you that... well, I uhhh, I- ah, crap." He hung his head, shoulders slump, unable to find the words he needed to tell her. At that moment, he felt her furred hands on the sides of his face, as she kissed him. Not the usual one placed on his cheek, but rather, the passionate kind, placed on his lips. Caught off gaurd, he backed away, with her still making contact with his lips, and both fell onto the bed. He tried to back away, but she wouldn't have it. Finally, she broke away. "Why... did you just..." "Because, I love you. And that's what it was that you were trying to tell me on Titania, wasn't it? You were trying to tell me, that you loved me in return." Jim felt his face turn red in embarrasment. "You don't have to play the 'tough guy' act around me." she giggled slightly, "I already know that you're a big softie." "How...did you..." "Your transformation, when I needed you, was proof enough." she replied, resting her head on his chest. "Would you like to spend the night with me?" "I'd... like that. Very much so."

Later that night, as they held eachother in her bed, Jim finally felt like he found someplace where he belonged. As he looked down at Krystal's sleeping form, as she curled herself next to him, arms wrapped around him, purring in her sleep, he realized where his strength came from, it just took a near miss of him losing his friend to make him see that. Then, he allowed sleep to take hold, as Krystal snuggled closer to him, and he held her close.


	7. Knight in Shining Armor

Ch. 7

Knight in Shining Armor

He does not know how he got here, or even where here even is. All he knows is, a little blue vixen is leading him through a forest of some type. As soon as he could see the buildings of her 'village', he wondered if he was on Earth at all; The structures looked like a mix of Aztec, and Egyptian, being made of stone, with intricate symbols and figures carved into it, with each structure having its own patterns. Jim did not have time to closely inspect the buildings, since he was being pulled along by an otherwise excited young vixen. All the people who they had passed, were all blue foxes. Every one of them, wearing attire of different types, but the style remained the same; tribal, primitive design. All the vulpines that they had passed, stared at the boy, as he was hurried along, wondering if what they were seeing was real, or a hallucination.

The pair made thier way to what looked like a temple of sorts, and the vixen told the boy to wait outside for a moment. A few minutes later, she, and a male vulpine, dressed in a blue and red robe, with a ceremonial headdress, came out. The male vulpine, whom the boy guessed was her father, looked at the boy, and smiled. "So, you are the one. We have someone here, who has been expecting you." He gestured the boy inside, and he entered the temple. Followed by the two vulpines, the boy made his way down a corridor, and into a large chamber, where a statue of a fox, with what looked like warrior attire stood, and standing in front of it, wearing jeans, a tee shirt, tennis shoes, and a jacket, was a person who he knew all too well, and returned the smile he gave him, as he ran to embrace the man.

"Sensei!" the boy cried, as he embraced the Japanese descent. The man knelt to the boy's eye-level.

"Ahhh, Aaron-kun. Did you find your way here, okay?"

"Yes. She brought me here." Aaron gestured over to the blue vixen, who had her hands behind her back, smiling openly.

"Good, good." The man was middle aged, at least thirty nine to fourty years old. He looked up at the male vulpine. "Is there a place for him to stay, while he conducts training?"

"Training, what training?" Aaron asked, curiously.

"My own home is big enough for you both. He will stay there, if you wish."

"That will be just fine." The blue vixen seemed overjoyed, as she rushed over to crush the young human in a hug.

"Oh, I'm so happy! You and I will be such good friends!" Both man and vulpine chuckled.

"It would appear, that your daughter has found a new friend."

"Yes, that would appear to be the case." The vulpine turned to his daughter, never losing his smile. "Dia, please, escort the boy home, please."

"Of course, father." She practically dragged the young human from the chamber, as both man and vulpine laughed out loud.

"Will your daughter never change, Randorn?"

"No, Yamato Takeshi, I do not believe so."

The home to which Dia brought Aaron to, was a rather large looking dwelling, overlooking the village upon a hill. It was easily two stories tall, and had a Roman/Greek feel to it. Not only did it have the intricate symbols and characters, but it also had colorful looking plants growing on different parts, giving Aaron the impression that it was a particularly old structure. At the entrance, an older vixen, probably late twenties, early thirties, walked out, and smiled at the pair arriving. "Dia, so good that you are home." She knelt down, and embraced the blue vixen, who returned it. "Who is your new friend?" Jim put his arms at his sides, and bowed, a traditional Japanese greeting.

"Aaron Howards, ma'am," he said bowing.

"My, and a gentleman to boot." Aaron blushed when she said this.

"Hey! How come you didn't do that, when we met?" Dia asked, her voice showing a hint of irritation.

"Ummm... you startled me, that I forgot."

"Hmph!" she turned her head away, eyes closed, classic angry female behavior.

"Dia, be nice!" The older vixen said, sternly. Aaron guessed that this was her mother. "Come. Help me with dinner, before your father gets home. We are expecting company."

"Okay." She turned to Aaron, her displeasure evidently forgotten by her mother's words. "Come on! There's so much I want to show you!" she said excitedly. Aaron nodded, and followed her to the door. It was pitch black inside, looking like a black hole. He looked behind him; the sun was setting on the mountains, overlooking the hollow where the village lied. The view from here was incredible, at least, it did to Aaron. He looked back into the entrance, still looking as dark and foreboding as ever. He stepped inside, and immediately, the door slammed shut behind him, and he was surrounded by darkness. He felt something move quickly towards him. He opened his mouth to scream, but it was frozen in his throat. He shut his eyes, awaiting the inevitable.

When his eyes opened, Jim saw that he was in his room. The sheets around him were damp with perspiration, while the clock on his night-stand read '2:30' in red incandescent lighting The dream forgotten, Jim laid back, as he tried to get back to sleep. Trying, and ultimately failing. He removed the sheets and cover and went to the bathroom. He looked at himself in the mirror, wondering if he was really the person he thought he was. 'So much has happened to me, that I never would've dreamt even coming close to being possible. First, Star Fox is real, then I'm an Ultraman, then I find out that Fox and Krystal are not a couple, then Krystal, I think, is falling for me...' Jim ran his hands over his face in exhaustion. All of this was a lot to take in, especially after finding out his world was destroyed by an unknown force. Was he really human? 'I know that Krystal has something to do with my power, but, just what is it, exactly? Ever since I met her, it's like, I know that I have to protect her no matter what. Why? Why is she so damned important to me?' With that thought, he went back to bed and drifted to sleep.

When next he awoke, Jim got up and headed for the bathroom When he got there, he was getting undressed and when he saw himself shirtless in front of the mirror, he froze; every muscle on his body was showing. Pectorals, biceps, triceps, even the 'six-pack' abs he'd been working on for weeks had decided to finally show. He removed his p.t. pants and saw that his thighs, calves, and hamstrings were also toned. He grabbed his rear, and thought 'Taught, round, buttocks!?' He looked at himself once more, and shouted "SWEET!" He had a body that his former drill instructors would kill themselves over. He wondered what else had changed, as he entered the shower.

Since it was the team's day off duty, he decided to dress in his tan top, acu pants, and tan boots. He noticed that, ever since he first stepped onto the Great Fox, that he has never removed the dog-tags around his neck. He was headed for the weight room, when he thought he heard something from the rec' room. Not one to normally enter it, since he believed himself to be apart from the team members, his curiosity got the better of him, telling him to go on. When he entered it, what he saw, made him stare in awe; he saw Fox up there, with a microphone in hand, either singing or lip synching, to what appeared to be a country type song. He saw a screen behind him, and scenes flashing before it, along with words, that he thought to be the lyrics. 'A freakin' karaoke? Are you serious?' he thought. He hadn't done something like this, in he didn't know how long. But, he did know that he did something like it, a long time ago. He decided to leave, feeling like he did not belong here. 'This type of thing, is lost on me.' He left, but not before Krystal sensed him, turned around, and saw the young human leave.

Jim was heading for the weight room, as was his previous destination. For some reason, he felt like, when he worked out alone, he could think clearly, away from all the distractions that people often immersed themselves with. He was always a loner by heart, and wasn't afraid to admit it. When he was halfway there, Krystal ran into him. "Hey, Jim. I noticed that you left the rec' room without saying a word. Something wrong?"

"You might say that," he replied, still walking. Krystal followed.

"Want to talk about it?"

"Why?"

"Because, I can tell that it's bothering you." He looked at her, and saw that she was wearing the same violet outfit that she got from Corneria while wearing a slight smile.

"Forget it." He said, continuing his march.

"Hey, wait!" She caught up with him, and blocked his path. "Look, I know that since Earth was-"

"Don't... say it. I already have a hard enough time dealing with it without someone bringing it up." he cut her off, eliciting a gasp from her, and a look of hurtfulness played across her face.

"That's what this is about? Earth is gone, so you can't allow yourself to do the things that you once enjoyed doing?" He looked at her, she was still wearing the sad expression.

"I can't. Not with the pain that they bring."

"The only way to get over that pain is to confront it head on. As a soldier, you should know this." He walked past Krystal, still headed for his destination when Krystal continued to follow him.

"You're persistent, aren't you?" Jim asked, not looking over his shoulder. Krystal didn't answer. "So, giving me the silent treatment instead?" Still no reply. "Suit yourself." After reaching the weight room, Jim headed for the bench-press, putting on at least a hundred and ninety on the bar. Krystal stood by the door, watching the human place the bar on the rest just above the bench. Lying underneath the bar, the human placed his hands, evenly spaced apart, on the bar and lifted up. He lowered the bar to his chest, then pushed up. He did ten reps with the weight before setting the bar back on the rest and sitting back up. He looked over at Krystal, who just looked at him with that indifferent expression still saying nothing. Jim scoffed, and got up to put more weight on the bar. He got back down, the bar having two hundred and ten on it this time. Jim lifted the bar up, and brought it down to his chest, then pushed back up, this time with more effort. He got another ten reps out, but his shirt was starting to have perspiration soaked in around the neck and underarms. Krystal still hadn't moved. Putting on another set of weights, the bar now held two hundred and thirty pounds. Again, Jim went under the bar, and pushed up then let the bar lower to his chest, the strain making him grunt with effort. He raised the bar, and pushed out a few reps before coming to his seventh. The bar lowered, but Jim was having problems getting the bar up. He strained under the weight and pushed, but he couldn't lift it. His eyes were closed tightly from the exertion as he pushed. Then, the bar seemed to get lighter and the human found that he could lift the bar up. He opened his eyes, and saw Krystal had placed her hands underneath the bar, right next to his hands and was pushing up slightly. Jim rested the bar on bar-rest, and sat back up. Krystal looked down at him, her expression still indifferent. "Mind telling me what that was for?" Jim asked. Krystal tilted her head to one side, puzzled.

"You were having trouble. I just thought you could use some help."

"Then why the silent treatment? Trying to teach me a lesson or something?" Jim asked. Krystal didn't answer as he got up. "Is it because I won't do that karaoke thing?"

"I just want you to interact with the rest of the group." Krystal replied.

"Finally, an answer." Jim replied, getting some barbells from the rack. "That's what this is about? You want me to be more interactive?" Jim laughed a bit.

"That, and to help you get over your issues." Krystal replied. Jim stopped, and looked at her. "The only way for you to get over your pain is to-"

"Are you going to start that again? Look, right now I prefer to be alone, doing my own thing. Is that so wrong?" Jim asked, feeling irritated.

"It is when you're pushing others away when they want to help you." Krystal replied. "You think you have the monopoly on loneliness? How do you think _I_ felt when I lost everything that I've ever known? My own world died just like yours did, and I felt as you feel. However, something happened to me that changed that."

"Let me guess, Fox saved you." Jim replied, gripping both weights in his hands and moving his arms up and down in sequence.

"Exactly." Krystal replied.

"And how does this apply to me?"

"Are you daft?! You're in the same position that I was in! I can help you. Just let me help you!"

"Maybe I don't want your help! You ever stop to think about that?!" Jim shouted, glaring at Krystal. "You think that just because we've had a similar fate happen to us that I'll do exactly the same thing as you? You think that I'd just let you help me with my problems, just like that?! I don't need you patronizing me about how to deal with my problems, and I sure as hell don't you to help me with my own personal dilemmas!" The human turned away from the vixen. Krystal felt tears burning in her eyes as she turned from the human and walked out of the room. She made her way to her room, and locked the door behind her, sliding down against it to the floor. Tears were steadily coming down her muzzle as Jim's words echoed through her mind. She brought her knees to her chest.

'Well fine. He can just deal wit his problems on his own, then.' she thought to herself. 'It's not my problem anyway…' But still, she felt that urge to help him as his words rang through her skull.

Jim could feel her emotions through the rapport they shared; anger, sorrow, hurtfulness, and couldn't blame her. She didn't deserve that, not after all that she's done. He made it to her room, and heard a sound inside. It sounded like sniffling, and he heard slight whimpering sounds as well. Jim let out an audible sigh, and knocked at her door. He heard the shuffle of feet across the floor, and when the door opened, and he saw the azure head peek out, he saw that her facial fur was matted in places, and her eyes were slightly bloodshot. She looked at him, glaring angrily. "What do you want?" she asked in irritation.

"Look, I came by to say I'm sorry. You didn't deserve that. I was a jerk-off to you when you tried to help. And, I apologize." he said. Krystal knew that he was sincere, for he wouldn't be doing this for no reason. This softened her a bit, but the pain still remained. "All I did was try to help, and you tell me that you didn't want or need my help!" Krystal replied. Jim looked away.

"I know. But, I felt going to you would be a sign of weakness. On my world, It's considered disgraceful for any man to admit to a fault, no matter what it is. I don't know how things are run on your planet or here, but things were different on Earth, especially if you're a soldier. At least, that's what I've felt. I didn't want to admit to my own weakness, that I am worthless for feeling this way."

"Don't say that." Krystal replied sternly. Jim looked up and saw the seriousness on her face. "Don't ever call yourself worthless again, especially in front of me." Jim was taken aback by this as Krystal continued. "You are not worthless, especially now. You have awakened the power inside of yourself, and even before then you have shown to be an exceptionally competent soldier. You have no reason to ever feel like that." she embraced him tightly when she said this, and Jim just stood there, unable to comprehend why this is happening. "I don't know why you feel like this, but you don't have to any more. You have people around you who do care for you. Just let us in, we can help you heal."

"I, just don't know…" Jim replied. She felt his hesitation, and knew that it stemmed from his feeling like a weakling for not being able to handle anything on his own, on having to rely on others.

"Jim, admitting one's own weakness is a strength. And when you face something that you cannot overcome on your own, there is no shame in seeking help." She still felt his hesitation, and felt his low sense of worth came from something deep within. She wanted to help, but knew that Jim would have to come to her and open up freely for this, and not try to force it out of him. But, she was determined to help him. Then, he felt it, like he did on Titania when Wolf attacked them while on-planet. It was like ' a warning?'

"Krystal, GET DOWN!" Jim shoved the blue vixen back into the room, and shut the door. All of a sudden, a loud explosion was heard and the ship shook. Then the hull next to him buckled, and gave way to the vacuum of space, creating a hole that was half the size of a man. Suddenly, alarms were blaring and emergency red lights replaced the normal fluorescent ones. Jim could only stare at the hole as it increased in size, and debris and items flew out, along with the leaking atmosphere.

"Jim, what's going on!?" Krystal shouted, over the loud whooshing noise that was the leaking atmosphere. She tried to open the door, but Jim held it shut, not wanting to risk her getting sucked out. "Jim, what's happening out there?!"

"Believe me, Krystal, ya don't wanna know!" he shouted back at her. The hole swelled to the size of a man, and Jim was overcome by the suction. As a result, Krystal's door swung open, and she gasped in fear when she saw Jim hanging on by the edge of the hole. Holding onto the knob, Krystal inched her way forward, until she was mere inches from Jim. The automatic forcefield would not activate until all obstructions were cleared. She reached a hand out to him.

"Take my hand!"

"I can't!"

"Please! Take it!"

"If I do, we both die!"

"No, please! I can't lose you again! Not after just getting you back for a day, I can't afford to lose you now!" Tears were streaming down her vulpine face.

"Krystal, get your ass back in that room or I will KICK IT IN THERE!" He yelled. Krystal flinched at this, as if she had been struck in the face by his hand. Then, his features softened. "Krystal, I'm so sorry." He feels the power from before well up, and it assures him he will survive. He lets go.

"NO!" The automatic barriers kick in, as soon as Jim lets go. Krystal slumps to the ground, feeling hollow as she pounds her fists against the forcefield.

In the vastness of space, the only reason why Jim has not imploded right now is due to the fact that he is surrounded by a brilliant crimson glow. Suddenly, his form changes shape, becoming more musculature, and when he looks down at himself, he sees that he is an Ultra once more, except, he feels different from last time. He still feels powerful, of that there is no doubt, but it wasn't the same power as he felt on Titania. He pushed the thought out of his head, as he waited for the true enemy to make itself known.

Krystal was still slumped in front of the forcefield, when Fox and Falco have found her. "Krystal!"

"Fox!" Krystal wept onto Fox's shoulder.

"Where's Jim?"

"Jim, he...oh, God!" Fox looked out the window, and got the idea. He suddenly felt sad. He barely knew the boy, and for that he feels regret.

"Everyone, on the bridge on the double!" Peppy's voice sounded over the p.a. system. The team, minus one new member, made it to the bridge. Peppy noticed. "Where's Jim?" Krystal still had tears staining her emerald eyes.

"Jim is... gone."

"What!?"

"He got blown out...into space while saving me." Peppy felt his knees weaken, as he collapsed into a chair.

"Oh, no. Then, our mission was-" An all too familiar voice cut Peppy off mid-sentence;

"Well, well, it does work, after all." Then, Wolf's toothy visage filled the screen. Krystal felt fury giving her the strength to stand once more.

"You BASTARD! You killed him! YOU KILLED JIM!" she yelled. She had fresh tears stream down her angry face. Wolf had a look of mock innocence.

"Really? Because, based on what I have seen, I did not think that the cold vacuum of space could hurt him, not after what had happened on Titania."

"Krystal, what's he talking about?" Fox asked, facing the blue vixen. She would not look at him.

"Oh, you never told them? Well, let me spell it out for ya; Your friend is not what he appears to be. I've seen him turn from a pink-skinned wimp, into a monster! Ya hear me, Fox!? He's a wolf, in sheep's clothing!" He laughed heartily at this, as if it were the greatest joke of the universe.

"What? What is he talking about?" Fox whirled at Krystal again.

"It's true." Peppy said. All eyes were on the hare now.

"What?!"

"It's all true, more or less."

"Peppy, what the hell are you talking about?!"

"Listen to me. That boy, is not really an ordinary boy. He has within him a special power. One that may save us all from what's coming at us." All the team members wore puzzled looks, except for Krystal, who still kept her sadness.

"Go ahead, old man. Tell us what you know." Wolf said, grinning devilishly. Peppy took a deep breath, and started to talk;

"Several months ago, right before we went to Earth, General Pepper was approached by a race of beings. These beings called themselves Ultras. They said that, the galaxy was in grave danger. A danger unlike anything we have ever faced, or will face, for that matter. They said that the only one who could avert cataclysmic disaster, was a boy, living on some unknown world in a nearby system. That boy, was chosen to be the next guardian of that planet, and stop the evil right then and there. However, there was a complication; thier enemy was moving faster than anticipated, and what's worse, he would attack the boy's homeworld first."

"'He'? Who's 'he'?" Falco asked.

"They never gave a name. Anyway, thier enemy would destroy the planet, where the boy was living, before the power could awaken inside of him, before his evolution was completed. That's where we came in; General Pepper sent us to that system, not to scout for a possible attack, but to pick that boy up before all was lost."

"Wait, wait, you mean Jim is..."

"Jim is an ultra being of great abilities. He has powers that we can only dream of. However, thier enemy wanted to stop any chance of Jim realizing his true potential, so they decided to destroy Earth. But, fortunately, we were able to save him in time. But, now..." Peppy looked down as if he had lost all hope, then perked right back up. "But, there is still a chance! Ultras are able to survive in the vacuum of space. If he's still alive, then there is still a chance!" "No! You have no chance! Your luck's ran out, vermin!" Wolf faced a different part of his HUD, and said "Now, Deukellion!" All at once, the screen switched to space, where a massive shape was heading right for them. Then, the shape had a humanoid appearance; a hulking, long limbed, broad chested body, topped off by a square shaped head, with laser cannons on the side. Fox, Slippy, Peppy, and Falco recognized it, immediately; "A Spybot!" Fox shouted. "Looks like a complete model." Commented Peppy.

"I thought we killed that thing!"

"I guess such relics existed somewhere, Falco, a painful reminder of Andross's evil." The hare stated. He sounded tired.

"Destroy... destroy." A mechanical sounding voice sounded from every corner of the room.

"We need to take that thing out, NOW!" Fox shouted.

"Too late, look!" From the abdomen of the robot, a large missile was fired, aimed directly at Great Fox's control head.

"Fox, what'll we do?!" Slippy yelled.

"Brace for impact!" he yelled back. Everyone held on for dear life, praying for a miracle. They got one. A gigantic, humanoid shape got in between the missile, and Great Fox. All the team could make out before the explosion filled the screen was a giant shadow floating in front of them. Then, the glare faded and star-specked space filled the screen, along with their mutual benefactor. It turned around, and they saw three lights; two golden, oval shaped orbs in what appeared to be the head, and a blue one, in the center of the chest. Then, the sun was coming out from behind a planet, and casts its revealing light on thier unexpected savior; It was huge, at least 40 meters tall, red and silver, with the red acting as a 'covering' over the muscular silver. It even sported red 'shorts'. The face was strangest of all; It was completely smooth and featureless, like a helmet, or mask. The only indication of facial features, were a metallic mouth piece, and the glowing orbs for eyes, and had a fin going through the center of the head. The light on its chest, glowed a bright blue, like the brightest star, on a clear evening. It looked at them, and nodded. Krystal was beaming, practically laughing, for she recognized at once who it was;

"JIM! He's alive!"

"Wait... _that's _Jim?!" Fox asked, unable to comprehend that the young man, whom he had known for months, was the iconic like being floating before them.

"This is... seriously... messed up..." Falco staggered back.

"So Jim's a... superhero?" Slippy asked, in disbelief. The Ultra turned its attention back to the robot. Krystal and Peppy looked on in hope.

"We're not licked yet. Not if we still have him on our side." Krystal noticed that the color scheme was different, and that it closely resembled that of the Ultra that saved Fox from the Dark Breed. But when she looked into it with her telepathy, she knew that it was Jim, no doubt about it. 'Jim', got into a battle stance, and the Spyborg fired its head laser cannons. However, the Ultra merely deflected these with his bare hands, each strike sending an energy ball in a different direction. Then, 'Jim' flew at the machine, tackled it, and flew it right into the moon. Peppy looked at the team, who all stared at the screen, open mouthed, and shocked.

"Well, what are ya standing around, for?!"

"Huh?"

"Jim may be able to take on the spyborg, but I highly doubt he can take it, and Star Wolf on at the same time!"

"He's right. Alright, everyone, let's gear up, and back Jim up!" Fox shouted, as they made thier way to thier arwings.

'Jim, please, hold on. Please, hold on for me.' Krystal pleaded mentally.

On the moon, she had nothing to worry about, for the fight was in 'Jim's' favor; not made for hand-to-hand, the spyborg found it exceedingly difficult to land a solid blow on the Ultra, who either dodged the blows, or blocked and countered them. When the team got close enough, they could see that Jim was winning. The robot swung out with one of its massive arms, which the Ultra caught, and did a shoulder throw, sending it several hundred meters away. 'Jim' then leapt up, and landed on top of the robot, and started to rain down blows upon it, with out mercy. "That's it! Hit 'im, and hit 'im hard!" Slippy cheered from the cockpit.

"Knock it off, Slippy! Who's to say that he'll still be on our side when this is over?"

"That's Jim you're talking about, Falco! He is on our side, remember?!" Krystal threatened.

"Nothing that powerful is on anyone's side!" Fox was starting to agree with him. The fight raged on. The robot swung out with one of its massive arms, which the Ultra dodged by, surprisingly, bending backwards, in a half backflip, and coming up to plant a solid kick in its midsection, sending it back, then, a powerful straight punch at its 'face' sent it reeling.

"Useless scrap! Let's take that monster out!" At Wolf's orders, all four of the wolfen fired scarlet laser bolts. A volley lanced itself across 'Jim's' unprotected back, getting a pained grunt from him. After landing an uppercut that sent the robot reeling back, the Ultra saw a second volley heading right for him. He rolled out of the way, and the bolts harmlessly struck against the surface of the moon.

"That's our cue, team! Let's take out Star Wolf!" Instantly, both mercenary teams had engaged in separate dog-fights, while the Ultra once more focused its attention on the robot, who was now advancing on him. Just then, the blue light started to flash red, at a slow, steady pace. 'I have to end this, right here and now,' Jim thought. Jim ran over, grabbed and hefted the robot over his head, and threw him away another several hundred yards.

"Alright! That's what I'm talking about!" Slippy was still playing cheerleader, despite Falco's protest. The Ultra looked up at them, as if it heard Slippy. The robot got back up. Jim focused his attention back on the robot. He ran at it, and did a drop kick, that decapitated the machine. Stunned, the machine stood there, and looked right at Jim. Then, Jim brought up his hands, and made a plus sign, with his left hand, vertical, in front of his right hand, which was horizontal, with the fingers stretched out. Then, a white stream of energy shot out of the edge of the right hand, and struck the robot in the chest. It was in contact with it for several long seconds, before the beam died. However, Jim kept his pose, until the robot blew apart into millions of pieces. "AWRIGHT! HE DID IT!" Slippy was overjoyed, as was Krystal, though she kept her cool. She picked up the thoughts of Fox, who was worried about Jim.

'Fox, Jim is still on our side.'

'No. You saved him. If it wasn't for you, he'd be dead, and so would we right now. But still, can we trust him?'

'I trust him, completely. And, so should you, Fox.' He tried to smile.

'I'll try, but, I may need some help.' Seeing that the robot had been obliterated, Star Wolf decided to retreat for now. However, one held back.

"Hey, look!" they all saw the Ultra float up at them, stopping only a few yards away. He looked like he was studying them. Then, he gave an army style salute.

'No way, am I going to let this defeat go...' Rigger thought. He let loose a nova bomb at the team, and flew away. Jim saw the bomb headed right for them, as did the team. Just then, like he did with the Great Fox, he got in between the bomb, and Star Fox, using his body as a shield. An explosion ensued, that engulfed the red and silver warrior. And, as suddenly as it happened, the explosion dissipated, and Jim was seen, floating in space. He turned to look at the arwings, his light flashing faster now, and nodded, and flew towards the Great Fox.

'I told you, Fox.' Krystal communicated, with amusement.

'Yeah, ya did.' "Alright, team, let's head for home."

"But, what about Jim?" asked Falco.

"Jim's... one of us. Always has been, always will be." Fox stated. They caught up to the red and silver giant, who started to glow white, then shrink. He was the first one to enter the hangar. As soon as the team exited tha arwings, they rushed over to the Ultra standing near them. They gave him a wide berth, as light swirled around him. Then, when the light dissipated, Jim was standing there, smiling.

"My friends," he said, rather exhaustedly "It's so good to see... you... all...saaaafffffeeee..." His eyes rolled up, and he fell forward. Jim didn't know if he fell into Krystal's outstretched arms, or the ground. He picked the former, since, when he tried to open his eyes next, he saw her looking over him, with tear stained eyes, then closed his eyes again.


	8. A New Breed of Hero

This is the Final Chapter in Part 1. None of this would have been possible, without Nintendo, Tsubaraya Pro., and Justin C., whose own works have inspired this soldier to write this fanfic. Please, read and review.

Chapter 8

A New Breed of Hero

He was in the void once more. Only, instead of it being white, it was scarlet, a bright scarlet. He looked down at himself, and saw that his hands were silver, with red patterns on his arms, the same with other parts of his body. He felt along his face, and felt the smoothness, his eyes were oval shaped domes, like goggles, and his mouth, like a piece of a mask. He felt his chest, and instinctively felt for the warning light. He looked down, and saw that it was glowing a steady blue. He felt relieved when he saw this. He looked around his domain, nothing but a bright and soft red, with a slight humming noise in the background. Then, he tried to listen, and thought that, he could hear voices;

"He hasn't stirred for hours. Are ya sure he's fine, Peppy?" He recognized that voice, as Slippy's, the Star Fox team's mechanic. He tried to reach out, to sense them, to feel thier presence. After considerable concentration, he could see them; the team was in the infirmary, where his human body was. He looked down at it, then at himself; he still kept his Ultra form, but the team must no be able to notice him, for they made no sign or gesture to have seen him, for standing mere inches away from his body.

"All indications say that he's stable, Slip. He just needs rest, is all. And, I can't say that I blame him. Wouldn't you be tired enough to slip into a coma after fighting a giant robot?" he asked, smiling slightly.

"I still can't believe it. He's a...I don't even know where to start." Falco said, exhasperated.

"I do. Let's start with how you didn't tell us about what really happened on Titania, Krystal." Fox said, turning to Krystal.

"Relax, Fox. You can't really blame her, they didn't have proof to back up thier claim," Peppy defended

"Also, Jim told me to not tell you."

"Really? Why's that?" Fox challenged. Everything was happening at once, and he was tired, and just wanted answers, right here and now.

"Because he wanted to avoid something precisely like this." she replied, gesturing to him. Fox looked, and saw what she meant. He couldn't blame either of them, what would he have done, in thier position?

"Still, can he be trusted?" Fox returned.

"Yeah, now that he has super powers, how do we know that he won't turn them against us?" Falco added. He was always attacking the human, sometimes for no reason, and it was really starting to annoy Krystal.

"Because, we are the closest thing to a family he's had since Earth died." She stated, irritatedly.

"But still, all that power...and we wouldn't be able to control him. He could do away with us now, and not have a care."

"That's where you're wrong, Fox. He does care. He does care about us, or he wouldn't have fought that machine, or even shield us from that bomb."

"Are ya sure it _is_ us he's defending, and not just you?" Falco challenged.

"What do you mean?"

"I'm sayin', that he's starting to have eyes for ya. We've all noticed."

"So? I don't believe that it has interfered with his duties, now has it?" Krystal said, placing her hands on her hips, looking even more annoyed. It was like she was standing on trial, for something that she didn't do.

"True, but still, do you return his affection?" Fox asked.

"What?"

"Do you have feelings for him, as well?" She was shocked at this. Fox had that look of seriousness about him, as if that, did he not get a straight answer soon it would spell doom for all.

"Yes, I feel something for him."

"Oh, great. Here we go." Falco muttered.

"And what, precisely, is wrong with that?"

"What happens if it turns into something more than just simple affection, what happens if it becomes something more? He's a human for crying out loud!"

"Who I show affection to is none of your business, Falco!" she nearly shouted. Her patience was starting to wear thin.

"It is, if you're going to make the biggest mistake of your life, right? I mean, he's... something, and you're a Cerinian. The parts don't even fit!" 'WHACK!' Falco was met with, once more, Krystal's fist in his eye. He tumbled down, and stared at a blue vixen, with tears going down her face.

"Stay out... of my personal life." she growled. All looked at her, even Jim, in spirit form. He knew that Krystal had feelings for him, but this...

"I'll make sure that your own 'parts' never fit again! He risked his life for us, what the hell else do you possibly need!?" she shouted at them, making them back away.

"I'm with ya, Krystal," Slippy stated. She looked at the amphibian, and smiled.

"Thank you, Slippy."

"As am I." said Peppy. Only Fox and Falco remained suspicious. Jim couldn't blame them. They were afraid of his power, and whether he would use it against them or not. In fact, he probably would've called them crazy if they weren't suspicious. "Come on, let's leave him alone for now. You all probably have questions for me." Peppy sounded. The team left the infirmary, and Jim decided to try something out, he walked out of the infirmary behind them, while still in his corporeal state. He followed a close distance behind them, trying to keep as much of his thoughts as he could under wraps, although, that was easier said than done. Jim was about to enter the door with them, when, suddenly, he couldn't. Try as hard as he might, he could not breach the door. Then, he felt himself fade away, and wind back up in the red void.

'Guess I used up too much of the little energy I had left,' he thought to himself.

When they reached the briefing room, they took thier respective places at the seats, surrounding the large, round metal table. In the center of the table, was a small holographic projector, used for briefings with General Pepper. "I'll try to answer any questions that you may have."

"Alright, first one; What the hell is Jim!? Is he human, or is he this...'Ultraman', or whatever that you claim he is?" Fox asked, irritatedly.

"Well, he's both, in a way."

"What do you mean, 'both'?"

Peppy explained, that seventy thousand years ago, a race resembling humans lived in a world, called M-78. However, thier sun was dying. To save themselves from extinction, they created thier own sun, called the Plasma Spark. However, the Spark's energies had side effects, that none of them could have foreseen; they hyper-evolved into beings of unparalleled power. Calling themselves 'Ultras', they decided to use thier power to protect the cosmos against all types of evil aggression.

"Then, where does Jim fit in all this?" Krystal asked. "Jim is the result of what happens when an Ultra fuses with a human." "Wh-what?" "Several years ago, so I'm told, an Ultra went to Earth and fused himself with an human when he was still a child. That human was Jim."

"Tell me, just why were we asked to save him in the first place? What makes him so special, other than the obvious?"

"They never specified, only that Jim was special to them, in some way."

"So, what do we do with him now?"

"We take him to The Land of Light."

"'Land of Light'?"

"It's what the Ultras call thier home."

"Will... we be going with him?"

"No. We will drop him off at General Pepper's, where an Ultra is said to head for shortly."

"Great, all this trouble, and we don't even get paid."

"Don't worry Falco, we'll be properly compensated, I assure you."

"Is that all you can think about?! We'll be leaving Jim to the hands of beings, that we know almost nothing about!"

"Krystal, they're his own kind, it's what's best for him."

"Yes, but..."

"But what?"

"I...just don't want to lose him again." Fox placed his hands on Krystal's shoulders.

"Don't be sad. I'm sure that when all is said and done, everything will work out in the end. It always has, hasn't it?" Fox smiled, and Krystal tried to return it.

Hours later, when Jim finally came to, Krystal told him about what was going to happen, about how he'll be going to the Land of Light, and start a new race of protectors. "I...see." Jim got out of the medical bed, and made his way to the large window. He stared out of it, taking everything that was said.

"I'm sure, that this is the best thing for you right now." Krystal said, trying not to cry. Jim turned to face her, and saw tears go down her face, and he felt what she was feeling; hopelessness, sorrow for losing someone precious. Jim smiled, and said

"Do ya still have the ring?"

"Ring?"

"The ring I gave you."

"I... think so. Hold on." She ran out of the infirmary, and into her room. She removed the ring from its case, and brought it to Jim. He took it into his hand, and concentrated. After a few moments, his hand glowed scarlet, along with the ring. Then, the glow subsided, but the glow was still present, inside the ruby of the ring. Jim handed it back to her, smiling broadly.

"What...did you..."

"If you are ever in the gravest of danger, to where you know you will not be able to protect those you care about, keep this ring on, think of me, and I will fly to your side once more." Krystal embraced Jim, tears streaming down her face.

Three weeks later

It has been some time, since Jim left for the Land of Light. Things have been rather quiet, as of late. They took missions, here and there, to help keep them liquidated, but nothing too major. Krystal held fast to the ring that Jim had given her, remembering the promise that he had made, about returning to them, should thier need ever become dire. Normally, she'd remove it before climbing into bed, but, nowadays, she keeps it on, hoping that her good friend would appear the next day. That is, until they got a call from Katina. The military outpost there said that they were under attack. "What kind of attack?"

"We don't know the full details, as of yet, Fox, but, we did receive this S.O.S.," Peppy pressed a switch, and a strained voice sounded

"Katina...Base...to anyone...out there. We...are under...vicious attack. Some...strange entity is attacking...wha-no! NO! NOOOOOOOO!" Then, just before the message died, a blood chilling shriek was heard, then, static. Krystal held the a hand to her chest. The hand held the ring on her finger that Jim gave her.

"Our mission is clear, people; Go down to Katina, and take out whoever or whatever caused that!" At that moment, Krystal thought of Jim, and hoped that he would live up to his promise.

When they landed on the planet's surface, the outpost was totaled; what was once a base that was holding hundreds of soldiers, plus personnel, was now a smoldering ruin. As Slippy and Krystal entered the gates, Fox and Falco flew overhead, providing air support. "Everything is... destroyed. Not a soul left." Slippy said. "What... could've done this?"

"I don't know, but, I get the feeling that we're going to find out." They walked past the dead bodies. they were either crushed by falling rubble and debris, or had died from curious burn wounds. Those are what interested Krystal; as she bent down to examine a body, she saw that the burn hole scorched itself, all the way through the corpse, and out the other side. 'In order for a weapon to do that kind of damage, it would need tremendous power. But, what could do that without destroying the rest of the body?' She was instantly reminded of the Aparoid assault, that had happened just over a year ago. All the death, suffering, and agony, it was nearly overpowering for a telepath like her. Slippy was shaking visibly, talking to himself, one of the things he did when he got nervous;

"Oh man, things never got this bad. There was the Aparoid invasion, but even those bugs didn't do something like this. This is not good, not good at-"

"Slippy! Please, be quiet." She was starting to get a bit annoyed, but couldn't blame him for being frightened. She was feeling nervous herself. Just then, a shriek sounded through the air. Slippy and Krystal whirled, but saw nothing. Then, they looked up, and what they saw made them freeze; coming in at them, was a large flying mass, easily fourty meters tall, and dark brown in color. When it landed, it looked like some demon bird out of a horror flick, with its scaly hide, wing-like appendages, glowing eyes and a weird growth on the abdomen. As the team would learn later on, they had encountered the feared Bemstar, the energy absorbing space hawk. It caught sight of the two team members on the ground, and decided to go for them. It rushed at them, intent on devouring them, when it was met by laser fire from the arwings flying overhead. The craft let loose emerald bolts across the Bemstar's unprotected flank, but these did little, except annoy the giant avian.

'I hope I'm not too late. Please, God, don't let me be too late.' A red comet was streaking through the cosmos. The entity inside picking up the distress signal from Katina, and making a bee-line for the planet, hoping that whatever's attacking it, is not what it think it is.

"Slippy, Krystal, get clear! We're gonna try nova bombs on it!"

"Roger, we'll get out of your way!" Krystal turned to Slippy. "Right, let's go!"

"I'm right behind you, Krystal." As both amphibian and vulpine made a dash, Bemstar homed in on them.

"Eat, this." Falco let loose a bomb, that detonated against Bemstar's back, making it screech in pain. It whirled to face the smaller craft, and the single horn on its head glowed yellow.

"Falco, watch out! It's about to-" Krystal's warning came too late, as a yellow beam lanced through the sky, intent on bringing down the arwings. Fox dodged, but Falco was not quite so lucky; the beam hit his arwing solidly, and was now spiraling out of control.

"Falco, eject!" At Fox's command, the blue avian did just that, and landed near the ground team.

"Falco, are you alright?" Krystal asked, concerned for her blue friend.

"Yeah, I think so."

"Not for long, look!" Bemstar was advancing on them, shrieking evilly. Fox let loose another bomb, but what happened next, made his heart sink; instead of exploding against the monster, the bomb was caught in a green swirl of energy, exuded from the pentagon shaped growth on the abdomen. The bomb was then absorbed, and Bemstar cackled evilly.

"Oh, man, now what?" Falco, Krystal, and Slippy pulled out thier blasters, and started firing at Bemstar. However, the bolts met the same fate as the nova bomb; being absorbed by Bemstar's abdominal cavity. Then, a green beam of energy came out of the cavity, and engulfed the anthropomorphs. "FALCO! KRYSTAL! SLIPPY!" Fox watched on, helpless to save the only family he has ever come to know, tears coming down his face. It would take a miracle to save them, and they got it. From out of nowhere, Bemstar was hit by a blue/white beam dead center in the cavity, throwing sparks and causing the space hawk to fall. Then, a red ball of light came down and picked up the three team members from mid-air. It hovered in mid-air, and when it took shape, to that of a fourty foot tall humanoid, Fox's jaw dropped as he recognized who it was.

Krystal still had her eyes closed. When she saw that she was heading for the open cavity, she remembered what Jim had said, and held the ring close to her, while mentally screaming for him. And when she opened her eyes, she looked down, and saw that she was standing in a giant silver hand. She saw Falco and Slippy, but they were staring up, open mouthed, and rooted to the spot. She looked up, and saw why; she was looking up at the face of an Ultra, glowing oval eyes, metallic face, no facial features, fin going through the face, the works. "Ji-Jim?" she uttered. And, as if in recognition, it nodded its head. At that moment, tears came down Krystal's face, and she laughed out loud. Jim kept his promise. 'Jim' knelt down on one knee, and placed the Star fox team on the ground, and placed an arm on his knee, as if studying them. "Come on, he wants us to leave."

"How do you-"

"I just do, now let's GO!" she shouted at them, and when she shouts like that, things get moving. Jim watched them leave, then focused his attention on Bemstar, who was now back on its feet, and shrieking at the Ultra. Jim rose to his feet, and got into a battle stance; his left arm was kept close to his chest, its hand a fist, while the right arm was straight out, the hand open. Then, Bemstar struck both of its wing's hooks together, and lumbered at the Ultra. That's when Jim decided to act; moving with speed that belied his great size, Jim leapt up into the air, and did an aerial axle, before ending in a drop kick that planted itself in Bemstar's face, knocking it to the ground. Then, Jim was upon his fallen adversary, raining down punches, and chops right into the monster's face, making it cry out in dismay, as it tried in vain to dislodge the red and silver warrior.

"That's it! Hit him again, and again!" Slippy was, once more, acting as cheerleader. This time, Falco kept quiet. He knew that, this time, Jim was fighting for them for sure. Bemstar fired its beam at Jim's face, hitting him in the eyes, making him back off. Then, when Bemstar was on his feet once more, he assaulted the stumbling Ultra, lashing out with its hooked wings. His vision was still blurry, and he relied upon his other senses to evade each and every blow. By either dodge or block, the Ultra was able to counter Bemstar's moves without his eyesight. Then, when his vision returned, he decided to try something; he placed his left fist over the blue light on his chest, and his right hand, fingers outstretched, was cocked behind the head, the left side of his body facing forward. Then, energy was swirling around his hand, until it became a buzz-saw of blue/white power. Jim launched it, only to have Bemstar absorb it through his pentagon-shaped abdominal growth. It exuded a pale green swirl of energy, and caught it, just before it could decapitate the space avian. Then, the buzz-saw was absorbed into Bemstar, who cackled evilly at Ultraman.

'Great, now what?' Jim thought to himself.

'Jim, can you hear me, it's Krystal.'

'Krystal? It's so good to hear you, love.' She felt a tear trickle down her face.

'Later, we'll talk later. You have to find some way of disabling that thing's energy absorption.'

'Way ahead of you.' He looked around, hoping to find something useful, when he found a good-sized chunk of rubble. He picked it up, tossed it in the air like a baseball, and chucked it right at Bemstar. With a solid 'ker-CHUNK!', the rubble lodged itself nicely in the abdominal cavity, as Bemstar shrieked in dismay, as it tried in vain to dislodge the rubble, only making it sink into it further.

"Nice shot!" Slippy shouted.

"Now, why didn't we think of that?" Falco asked, turning to Krystal with a smile. She returned it. Jim looked at the flailing Bemstar, then at the floating arwing, then at Bemstar again, getting an idea. He dashed at Bemstar, grabbed hold of it and placed it in a full nelson, facing Fox's arwing. Jim nodded at the arwing, and Fox got the idea.

"Alright, let's see if this works while that thing has bitten off more than it can chew." Fox lined up his arwing, and let loose the last two nova bombs in his arsenal. Just a split second before they struck, Jim backflipped away, and the bombs exploded against Bemstar's cranium. After the explosion subsided, the monster was still on its feet, and turned to faced Jim. What remained of its face, was mostly muscle and bone, with an eye reduced to a smoldering socket. It let out a weak warble, as Bemstar took a step forward. Then, Ultraman Jim got into his Spacium Kousen stance, with his left arm, vertical, in front of the right arm, horizontal, and a blue/white beam shot out. It struck what remained of Bemstar's head, causing it to explode after a few seconds. The now headless monster took two steps, and fell forward, exploding into millions of pieces. Slippy cheered out loud, while Falco shook a fist in triumph. Krystal smiled openly, while Fox breathed a heavy sigh of relief. With his warning light flashing a slow, steady red, Ultraman Jim looked up at Fox, and gave him a thumbs-up, which Fox returned.

"JIM!" Ultraman Jim looked down at the arm-waving blue vixen, and nodded. Then, his warning light flashed a bright white, and he once more turned into a bright red ball of light. Then, the ball landed, and it dissipated. As soon as it did, Krystal saw a very familiar person running at them, waving his arm. This time, the tears could not be controlled, as she ran, and tackled Jim in an embrace, sending them to the ground, with Krystal on top, her face pressed against his, in another showcase of unbridled emotion. When she did pull away, Jim smiled, asking

"Now, where have I seen this scene before?"

"You...came back..."

"Of course I did. I'll always come back to you, Krystal." he said, placing a hand on the side of her blue-furred face. She took it, closed her eyes, and gently rubbed the side of her face against it. Then, she kissed him once more.

"Uhhh, I know that this is an emotional moment for you two, but we can't stay here for you to catch up." They both turned thier heads, and Falco was standing a few feet away, with a broad grin on his face. Krystal got up, her face blushing, and Jim picked himself up, dusting himself off. Slippy showed up, and was still geeking out about Jim's sudden appearance;

"That was freakin' AMAZING! You just showed up, out of nowhere, with that thing snarling, and then you pounded the living crap out of it, and then ya-"

"Slippy, BREATHE, for God's sake! You're gonna pass out, buddy-boy." Jim said, patting his head.

"Tell the human that I take back almost everything I've ever said about him. ALMOST everything, I still believe that he's a bit of a hot head, though."

"Falco, when we get back, remind me to set you on fire." The team laughed heartily at this, and made thier way out of the gates of the ruined base.

"I knew it, I knew it, I just knew it." Peppy was still going on about what all had happened, monitoring the team's progress. He would've sent important equipment down, but he claimed that "The transporter had a malfunction, _again._" He said this, facing Slippy, who turned a shade of red from embarrassment. The team was now in the briefing room, receiving the debriefing from General Pepper.

"Yes, well, so good that Jim showed up, right when he did. I'd hate to lose my finest team, after all." Pepper had a smile on, when he said this. "Jim, if you ever have the time, I'd like you to stop by. There's something that I'd like to give you, along with your pay-check of course. That is, if you are still with Star Fox, even after your endeavors on M-78."

"I'll be sure to, General." Jim said, smiling slightly. After the debriefing, Krystal showed him to his room. She kept it, exactly as he had left it, all those long weeks ago. After spending almost a full year out in space with them, and his trip to M-78, Jim was starting to feel like he had finally found a place, that, he could feel he could belong. That place, was by Krystal's side, in Star Fox.

"How do you like it?" she asked, smiling.

"I don't believe it, you kept it the way it was when I left for M-78."

"Because, I knew that you would return to us, to me, one day soon."

"But, you still missed me in the process, didn't you?" He saw tears well up in her emerald eyes, once more. "You don't know what it was like. I thought I had finally found the one person I could really connect with, and then you were gone, as soon as you had appeared."

"It was hard on me as well, for I had tried to deny those feelings myself, for fear of us being just too different, too separate to be together. I...still feel apprehensive about expanding our relationship, but I am hoping that, with your help, I...might be able to-" He was cut off, when she had kissed him on the mouth. Fox was right; Krystal did not care that he was a human, Ultra, or a Lylat. As long as he would stand beside her, through even the darkest of times, that was all she needed to get by. They fell back on the bed, holding one another, Until Jim pulled away, and Krystal looked at him, puzzled. "What's wrong?"

"Nothing, just that I'd never thought that the one I'd have feelings similiar to yours, would be you. While living on Earth, I always thought you to be a fragment of fantasy. Then, you prove to be real as well as proving me to be an Ultraman. It just seems that, everything good that has ever happened to me, was because of you." he said, smiling at her. She returned his smile, and placed her face against his, and they held eachother, while sharing each other's emotions and felt thier life forces mingle. If one were to look upon them, they would see two figures, one on top glowing bright blue, and the one on bottom a deep scarlet while they simply held eachother.

"It would appear that the young Ultra has returned."

"What do you will, lord Gorzul?"

"Send the a message to our contact on Corneria. I would like to test this new Ultra, see what all that he has learned on M-78."

"It will be done, my lord."

In orbit around Corneria, life on Great Fox went back to its usual routine, but with Jim back on board. They were getting ready to head out for the surface of the planet, when Jim felt something at the back of his mind, like the 'warning signal', as he now calls it, but not as intense. It was more like a 'caution', than anything else. When Great Fox landed, the sensation subsided, but Jim never forgot it. Too much in his life had happened for him to just blatantly ignore it.

They made thier way to General Pepper's office, but only Jim was allowed beyond that point. After stepping inside his office, Jim immediately went to the position of attention. "Relax, soldier. This isn't like last time." Pepper was sitting behind his desk, smiling. He pulled open a drawer, and pulled out a box. He handed it to Jim. When he opened it, his eyes just went wide. He looked at General Pepper, who simply smiled. "I was told to give that, to the rightful owner. And, based on what I have gotten from Star Fox, I can see no one being the rightful owner, other than you." Jim returned his smile, and nodded. "Oh, but like last time, I believe that we are being monitored." Jim wore a puzzled look, and Pepper pointed behind him, at the potted plant. Jim walked over, sifted through the plant, and found it; Slippy's little spy device. The same one he planted all those months ago. Jim looked at it, and grinned.

Out in the waiting area, the team looked at the twelve inch monitor with surprise written all over thier faces. Jim still grinned, and waved a finger in front of the spy device. Then, the screen was filled with static, while a white-noise came from the speakers. "...crap." said Slippy.

Inside General Pepper's office, Jim still held the remains of the spy device in his clenched fist. "I figured that they'd learn from the last few times..." Pepper sounded both amused, and tired. Jim supposed that, he had a right to be.

"Well, they do say that hanging around young people, in your advanced age, is bad for your health." General Pepper laughed out loud.

"Sage advice. Is that what was said on Earth?"

"Yes, and Peppy as well." The General continued to laugh harder.

"Yet, he's the one who taught them to do that kind of stuff." Jim joined him in his laughter. Jim looked inside the box, at its contents, and stared, his smile gone.

"I... still can't believe it. He said that I would find this here, but, to actually see you having this,"

"Yes, I know it must come to you as quite a shock, but still, they felt like it had to be done." Jim took the contents out, and stared at it. It was an arm-brace type object, that was mostly white, with a red arrow shape going through the center.

"My...transformation object..." Jim said, voice full of confidence. He rolled up his right sleeve, and the brace attached itself to his wrist. Jim was startled slightly, and Pepper continued to smile. The brace began to glow, then pulsate, as Jim felt the energy inside of him, and the brace he was given.

"So, it is time for the game to start, eh? Very well, the stage is set, and the pieces are in place, and it is my move." A figure sitting in a recliner in an office turned to an armed gaurd by the door. "Tell Ackson to send out Doragon. I'm sure that my pet will appreciate the exercise, and, if I recall correctly, he's very hungry..."

"At once, sir." The gaurd exited the door, leaving the figure to face the large view behind him, wondering if the city would be even more beautiful, after being remodeled, in his own image.

Once more staying in a hotel, Krystal opted to share a room with Jim. "Thanks, but, I prefer to be alone. There's...something that I have to do."

"Oh, okay. If you need anything, I'll be right here." She was a little bit more than broken hearted at this, and Jim picked it up. He promised himself that he would make it up to her. But, this is important; almost immediately after leaving General Pepper's office, he felt the 'warning signal' go off. Unlike on Great Fox, this one actually felt like it was legitimate. 'Is it the same? I wonder...' He decided to investigate on his own. He left the hotel, and followed his senses, and headed towards the center of the city. It was getting dark out, and the local gangs were normally active at this time. Even though the gangs were significantly less than that of Earth's, due to Corneria's tight security, and strict curfews, some punks still found a way to band together. He was heading towards a city block, when a new sensation took over. It was similiar to that of the one that was guiding him, but, it was closer. He felt fear and pani, all rolled into one. It came from an alley not too far from here. 'Well, I suppose I could make the detour,' he thought to himself. When he was at the entrance, he was hardly surprised by what he saw; four figures were starting to converge on a couple. 'Time to play hero.' he thought amusingly. He thought about rushing in, and start bashing away, but got a different idea. He concentrated, and tried to 'read' the people's thoughts. While not as adept at it as Krystal is, he was still able to gather enough info; the couple decided to play naughty, by skipping curfew, and ran afoul of the dirt bags, who planned on beating the guy, taking thier cash, etc., etc. 'Just like New York, L.A., Detroit, and all the others.' No one was around, and he was in street clothes, so no one would know he was part of Star Fox. He ran behind a building, and decided to test out his new 'Spacium Brace', as he calls it. He placed his arm over his heart, where it flashed, and placed his left hand over it. A second later, He through his arms out, crucifix style, and was covered in a crimson glow.

"Just hand us the credits, and the kewpie doll there won't get hurt." The four large punks all wore matching attire, that of a leather jacket, jeans, digitless gloves, etc., making them look like bikers. They were converging on the couple, two cats, the girl cowering behind her boyfriend while he tried to shield her, visibly afraid.

"Just leave us alone! What did we ever do to you?!"

"You stayed out too late, that's what." a bulldog said, flashing a butterfly knife.

'Obviously the leader,' Jim thought. Now in his Ultra form, he was hovering over them, undetected. 'Time to play.' He landed directly in front of them, and placed a spin kick in the bulldog's face, making him turn, and tumble. Ultraman Jim took up his combat stance, placing himself in between the thugs, and the couple.

"Who the hell are you?"

"My name, is Ultra."

"What are ya a birthday clown or somethin'?" one of the punks jibed, a rottwieller by the looks of him. Jim will remember him. Then, he moved. With fluid like grace, he kicked Rottwieller in the face, forcing him down, and landed an elbow drop on a Doberman. Doberman went down, not stirring. Then, Bulldog was on his feet once more. Ultraman Jim turned to face him, when he was grabbed from behind be Rottwieller.

'Stupid! Let my gaurd down. No matter.' In a full-Nelson, Jim reached behind him, grabbed Rottwieller by the collar, and threw him over his body with ease, making Rottwieller crash into Bulldog. Both got up, and pulled out thier butterfly knives.

"Watch out!" the girl screamed.

"So, anteing up the game, are we?" Jim crossed his arms over his chest, forming an 'X' shape. Then, he suddenly clenched his hands into fists, and the two punks were lifted into the air by invisible, or telepathic, means.

"Hey, what is this!?" Bulldog screamed. "Put me down! I-I'm scared a' heights!"

'Wish granted.' Jim thought. Jim made another gesture; he thrust both his arms out, hands fully extended, palms facing down. Then, he turned the hands, palms facing eachother, and two white beams shot out from the finger tips. He brought the right arm straight up, placing both his arms ninety degrees from eachother. The beams hit Bulldog first, and he was frozen, paralyzed. He turned to Rottwieller, and the same result ensued. Both were lowered to the ground, where they tumbled like statues, thier faces looked asleep. "There, that should do it."

"Whoa." Jim turned to the couple. Both froze in fear. Jim chuckled at this.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt ya. Just do me a favor."

"Uhhhh, sure." Boyfriend said, scared.

"Go home, and forget that this happened."

"What...about..." Jim turned to the paralyzed thugs.

"Ahhh, they'll be fine. The paralysis wears off in a few hours, or so. But, I want you two to head home, and forget about this whole thing, since I'm sure that both of you don't want to explain to the authorities what a couple of good kids, like you, are doing out past curfew." Both gulped in fear at that.

"Yeah, sure, no problem..." Boyfriend said, nervously. Ultraman Jim looked up, and with a loud "SHUWATCH!", he was flying away.

'Now, back to business.' Jim thought. He followed his sixth sense out of town, and into a wooded area. He landed in a clearing, and looked down at where the sense was the most agitated; there was a large opening in the ground, as if something had dug its way out. 'Something as large as a greyhound bus,' Jim thought. The hole itself was at least fourty feet in diameter, and there were several marks in the ground leading away from the hole, going for at least a few meters, before disappearing. Jim, still in his Ultra form, looked on. 'What am I dealing with this time?' he wondered. He noticed the sun was beginning to rise. Unlike Earth, the sun rose in the west, rather than east. 'I should head back to the hotel, before Krystal notices I'm gone. If there is one being I fear in this galaxy, it's Krystal when she's pissed,' Jim thought, amusingly. He flew up, and toward the city.

When he finally made it to his hotel room, he showered, and crashed onto his bed. His alarm said '7:30'. 'Still got plenty of time left, for me to slip into a coma.' That was his last thought, before sleep overtook him.

"My lord, Doragon is now in position. He is eager to begin feeding."

"Good. Best not to let him starve to death. Let him feast to his heart's content."

"Professor, we just got the order; we are to unleash Doragon now."

"Excellent. Watching him will bring me untold pleasure." The figure in the recliner never turned to face the dog in uniform, as he ran out of the office. The figure in the recliner, allowed an evil grin to play across his face.

In the woods, just outside of Corinthia, a large mass begins to stir; surrounded by skeletons of animals and people, it rose, and raised its head and issued a hideous shriek to the sky. Then, two transparent wings sprouted from behind it, and started to flap, then became a buzzing blur. After levitating in the air, it turned its sights towards the city, and headed towards its next meal.

Jim awoke to the sound of his alarm going off. He leaned over, and hit the switch. He saw the time, and read "11:30" to himself. He got up, and made his way to the sink. He splashed cold water on his face, and got out his razor, and shaving cream. After lathering the substance on his face, he proceeded to remove the unsightly whiskers. 'If I didn't do this, I'd really look like an anthro,' he thought amusingly. Suddenly, he felt a sharp chill go down his spine, and a sensation going off in his head. It hit him so fast, that he accidentally cut himself with his own razor, drawing blood from his cheek. After wiping the blood off, Jim looked down at his Spacium Brace; it had a pulsating glow, and gave off a sound, like a heartbeat. He looked up, thinking 'So, it's like that, is it? Very well.' After wiping the cream off of his face, Jim got out to the balcony, and was about to transform, when he heard his door open. He turned suddenly, and saw Krystal's head peek through.

'I hope I'm not intruding...' she communicated through thier rapport.

'Not really, just-' The TV screen suddenly flashed to life, and a news bulletin of some sort flashed across the screen.

"We interrupt to bring you this breaking news; not ten minutes ago, a large shape was seen flying towards the city of Corinthia. We have determined that it has indeed landed in the city, and now take you on the scene." The scene shifted from a Labrador anchorman, to a female Dalmatian standing in the middle of a street, while people are running away from something. Everyone was in a panic.

"Thomas, I am now standing in the center of the city, and the once peaceful city, is now the center of mass chaos. People are running for thier lives, as a large entity has landed inside the city limits," The camera shifted to the left, as a large form began to move through the smoke, and ruined buildings, obscured. Then, both Jim and Krystal could see the head of the thing; It was insect-like, with red compound eyes, a drooling maw with mandibles, antennae, and was covered in a green tinted exoskeleton, that looked hard as steel and covered in spikes. It turned its head towards the camera, and issued an unholy scream. Krystal gasped in shock, while Jim clenched his fists, till the knuckles popped, and turned a bright white. Then, his Brace started to pulsate once more. Krystal saw it, and looked at Jim, her eyes filled with puzzlement.

"Did...you get that from General Pepper?"

"Yes." Jim answered. Krystal came forward, and placed both hands on the sides of his face, saying

"You know what you have to do." She always wore that knowing smile when it came to something like this. Jim returned it, and got out onto the balcony. He placed his arm with the brace over his heart, where it flashed scarlet. Then, he placed his left arm over the brace, and threw out both arms, crucifix style. There was a brilliant flash of red, and a tremor shook the hotel, and several buildings. Just then, Fox, Slippy, and Falco came through Jim's open door, and saw Krystal standing on the balcony.

"Krystal, we have a problem; there's a-a-uhhh..." Fox couldn't finish his sentence, as an Ultraman was staring down at him. Slippy and Falco shared in his awe. Only Krystal was smiling. Ultraman Jim was standing at his full fourty meter height, and was looking down at the anthros. Soon, others had come out, to see the giant red and silver visitor, that had seemingly appeared out of nowhere. Soon, there was a crowd around him, all murmuring, wondering what he will do. After looking at them all, Ultraman Jim looked towards the sky, and shouted "SHUWATCH!" and was flying into the blueness. After they had gotten over thier initial shock, the team turned towards Krystal, hoping that she'd have the explanations. "Krystal, why did he-" she looked at Fox, and kept that smile,

"His duty."

"Duty or no, if he fights that monster in Corinthia, they'll tear what's left of it apart!" Falco nearly shouted. Fox wasted no time, and brought the communicator to his mouth; "Peppy, can you hear me?"

"Loud and clear! I've been monitoring your conversations, and what was going on. Looks like Jim seems adamant on fulfilling his 'role', as an Ultra,"

"Just send four arwings to this location, stat!"

"Way ahead a' ya! ROB already has them loaded up in the hangar, and should be there in five minutes by auto-pilot."

"He'll tear the city apart _in _five minutes!" Fox shouted.

"That's the best that I can do, Fox." Peppy finished, before signing off. Krystal looked on in the direction of where Jim flew off.

Doragon was enjoying itself. Here, it could eat all the little morsels that it could stomach, and its own stomach felt very empty. The structures that the morsels tried to hide in, were instantly reduced to rubble by its large scythe-like blades. Resembling a mantis from a madman's nightmare, Doragon screeched in pleasure, chilling the soul of the city. The lucky ones died by getting crushed or trampled. The unlucky ones, were brought to Doragon's drooling maw. The Cornerian Army tried to retaliate, but the Cornerian fighters and Landmaster tanks that were sent against it, only proved to irritate it. That is, until its red compound eyes had began to glow. Then, several energy blasts launched from them, taking out the military. Now, it could dine, in peace. That is, until it was rudely interrupted; A red and silver shape, like a giant man, flew out of nowhere, and landed a flying kick to its skull, knocking it down. Ultraman Jim landed in a street, kicking up a cloud of dust, before getting into his combat stance. Jim could sense the people behind him, thier hope, thier fear, and thier surprise. 'Okay, now to settle this.' Doragon issued a shriek at the red and silver warrior from M-78, and Jim answered; moving with speed that belied his size, Jim leapt up into the air, and performed an aerial axle, that ended in a drop kick to Doragon's face. With a shriek, Doragon fell once more. Just then, Star fox had shown up in thier arwings.

"Oh, no, they're going at it..." Falco moaned. "If this keeps up, then Corinthia will be..." Just then, Jim ran over to Doragon, and with Herculean might, hoisted the mantis monster clean over him.

"Whoah..." Slippy commented.

"Now, he's just showing off," Falco added. Krystal felt what he was planning, and smiled. 'Of course, he wouldn't allow innocent people to get hurt,' she thought.

'You got that right.' Jim communicated. Her smile grew. Shrieking and waving it's limbs, Doragon was feeling fear, for the first time that it could remember. Then, Jim looked up, and with a loud "SHUWATCH!", he was flying in the sky, with Doragon in tow. When they were a few miles outside of the city, Jim dropped Doragon. It landed with a crash, and Jim landed, standing in between it, and Corinthia, with his fists planted on his waist, feeling like the iconic hero he dreamed of being. When Doragon got back up on its feet, Jim got back into his combat stance. Star Fox watched from the sidelines, with Krystal holding the ring close to her heart.

'You guys actually thought that I would fight a fifty meter cockroach, in a heavily populated area? Sheesh, how dumb do you numb-skulls think I am? Excluding Krystal, of course,' Jim thought, with a laugh. All the male members felt embarrassed. Then, Doragon charged forward, intent on slicing Jim's head clean off. Jim, however, had other plans; He blocked the first scythe, and planted a fist in Doragon's midsection, making it stumble back. Then, he did a spin kick that connected to its face, making it fall back.

"ALRIGHT! Keep going!" Slippy was acting as cheerleader once more, and the team welcomed it. Jim leapt up onto Doragon, and began to throw punch after punch into Doragon's face. Soon, cracks appeared on the exoskeleton, and a sickly yellow ichor seeped through, staining Jim's fists. Doragon shrieked, and tried to dislodge the warrior, but to no avail.

'Such power...I can't help but wonder...what would happen if he should ever decide to turn against us.'

'You shouldn't think like that Fox. Jim will always fight for us.'

'I know Krystal, but he holds such power, that it's...frightening...' Just then, Doragon used its optic blasts on Jim's face, and forced the Ultra off of him. Then he came at Jim, brandishing its blades threateningly. It tried an overhead slice, but Jim caught it in between his forearms, realizing too late that he left his sides open. Doragon took advantage of this, and used its right scythe to slice Jim down the chest in a diagonal arc. Jim yelled in pain, and Krystal gasped. Jim fell away, and Doragon leapt up, and landed on top of Jim. Doragon lunged its head forward, in an attempt to bite off the Ultra's. Jim dodged once, twice, then caught the head in between his forearms. But, he can't hold it for very long; his warning light went from a steady blue, to a flashing red.

'Every moment I spend fighting it puts me more and more at a disadvantage, I have to finish this quickly!' Jim thought. Krystal felt this, started to worry. Fox sensed this through thier rapport, and communicated 'Looks like it's our turn, now.'

"Krystal, with me! Falco, Slippy, take its flank!"

"I'm with you Fox!"

"Got it!"

"Let's exterminate this pest!" the four arwings split up, Falco and Slippy swinging around behind Doragon, while Fox and Krystal were aiming for its head.

'Jim, please hold on for us! We'll help you!'

'No! Get back! It's too dangerous!'

'You've helped us out, now it's our turn!' Fox and Krystal both charged thier lasers, and swung in low, lining up with the mantis's head.

"Now, Krystal!" "Right!" Both arwings unleashed thier shots, and hit the kaiju, dead center in the face. Doragon reared its head, and issued a shriek from its maw. Then, Slippy and Falco let loose two nova bombs on the monster's back, blowing off its wings, and tearing a huge gash. It raised its body enough for Jim to pull his legs in, and kick both of them into Doragon's abdomen, making it tumble back. Then, Jim kicked out with his legs again, and landed on his feet. Doragon got back up, and hissed venomously at the warrior. It charged again, but Jim was ready. It tried a side-swipe, but Jim caught the scythe in both hands, and delivered a chop, just behind the blade, severing it from the limb. The yellow fluid poured from the stump, as Doragon shrieked in pain. Then, it tried to slash Jim with its other scythe, but Jim also caught this one, and after planting his left hand on top of the scythe to hold it steady, Jim cocked a fist behind his head, and launched it at the flat end of the scythe. With a loud 'SNAPT!', the scythe broke in half, and fell to the ground. Doragon was shrieking in dismay, while Jim planted a side kick that made it stumble backwards, and a powerful right straight punch floored it to the ground. Then, while it was shrieking, rolling around on the ground, Jim ran towards it, and with his right arm only, hefted the kaiju clean over his head.

"AWESOME! That's how we do it here!" Slippy shouted.

"I stand corrected; NOW he's just showing off." Falco said, smiling. With a mighty "HYAAAHHH!" Ultraman Jim threw the mantis several hundred meters away, where it crashed none too softly. It stumbled to its feet, and faced Jim once more. Jim got into his Spacium Kousen stance; Jim raised his right arm straight up, where light and energy gathered around it. He swung it down, shouting "SPACIUMMU," then brought his arms together with his left arm, vertical, in front of the right arm, horizontal, cross shaped. Then, with a loud "KOUSEN!" a blue/white beam shot forward, and struck Doragon in the chest. After exposure to the beam for several seconds, Doragon literally blew apart, exploding into millions of pieces. The team let out a cheer, and Jim nodded in satisfaction. The alien warrior turned towards the people, and walked towards them. He looked at them, hands on his waist, and looked over the city. Then, Jim looked up into the sky, and with a loud "SHUWATCH!", was away into the blueness, with Star Fox close behind.

Great Fox was waiting for them in orbit, as ordered by Fox. Jim was surrounded by a golden swirl of light, and shrunk to the size of a man. Jim entered the hangar, and landed, with the arwings close behind. When the team exited thier vehicles, and encircled Jim, they all knew what would happen next. Jim was covered in a swirl of light, and when it dissipated, Jim was standing there, smiling broadly, bearing cuts and bruises from his fight. Then, the team embraced him, with everyone talking at once.

"It would appear, that Doragon was unsuccessful, sir."

"Of course. The Ultra has defeated the Doragon once before, on Cerinia. It will only make the game more interesting, from now on." The figure in the recliner was watching the fight on his PAD, smiling to himself.

After getting checked out in the infirmary, and getting on a new uniform, Jim was standing in front of the view port, contemplating his role, when Krystal showed up at his door. After he allowed her in, she made her way to the view port, and stared out into space with him. 'Penny for your thoughts?' she communicated to him, smiling.

'Just thinking. I'm still trying to believe that I am an Ultra. And each moment that passes, I am proven that I am. Which...makes me more than a little nervous.'

'Why's that?' She turned to him, puzzled.

"Because I don't want to lose it all, just after I gained it." Krystal took his face in both hands, and smiled.

"If we keep eachother close, you'll not have to." They held eachother, while watching the sunrise on Corneria's surface.


	9. Role of a Soldier

Chapter 9

Role of a Soldier

He does not know how he got here, or even where 'here' is. All he knows is that he is going to die. As the large dark shape closed in on him, instinct took over; remembering the words of his sensei, he didn't think, he just act. He automatically got into his battle stance, and did a swift jump kick at the moving form. With a loud grunt, the form was soundly repelled, and sent skidding across the floor. Still in his combat stance, his left arm held close to his body, hand closed in a fist, while his right was extended fully, hand outstretched, he cautiously moved towards the down form, which was stirring. When it got to its feet, he saw that it stood just slightly taller than he did. "What's all the noise down here!?" suddenly, another form was approaching, apparently from a flight of stairs. "My, but it's so dark down here! Hold on, I've got it." After a few light steps were heard, there was a brilliant flash of light that was so sudden, that the boy had to shield his eyes from the glare until they had adjusted. When they did, he was greeted by an unexpected sight; he was in a den of some sort, with a large living room, complete with a sofa, large chair, apparently made for relaxing, a fireplace, and several shelves of books. All of the walls looked like they were carved out of marble, or some other soft white stone. He looked at his attacker, and saw that it was a young humanoid fox, a female, and was slightly taller than him. It looked at him with wide eyes, and a slack jaw.

"Wh-who...what are you?" it asked, uneasily.

"I'm...Aaron."

"What's an 'Aaron'?" it asked. Just then, another young vixen showed up, this one a little bit younger, and Aaron recognized her straight away, as did she recognize him;

"Aaron! Are you okay?" she asked, running to him.

"Uhhh, yeah, I'm fine." Aaron said.

"Dia, you know this guy?" Dia turned to the older vixen.

"Of course, Rena. He's my friend."

"Your...friend?"

"Mmm-hmm. My dream friend! The one I told you about." The one called Rena let out an exhasperated sigh, and held her head in her hand, as if in frustration.

"Dia, we have been through this, countless times; there is no, such, thing, as 'dream friends'!" she nearly shouted.

"There is too! He's standing right there!" Dia shouted back, pointing at Aaron, who looked confused, looking from one blue vixen to the other. Rena looked at him, while Aaron shrugged, wearing an 'I don't know what she means' look. Rena joined him. Then, an even older vixen came into the room, apparently coming to see what the commotion was about.

"Dia, what have I told you about talking that way to your sister?" she asked, sternly.

"To not to..." Dia said, sheepishly. "But, she attacked Aaron!" she added quickly.

"Yeah, sorry about that." Rena turned to Aaron, wearing an apologetic grin. "When I saw you come in, I guess I overreacted."

"No worries." Aaron said, smiling.

"That was a nice kick you pulled. Who taught you?"

"My sensei."

"'Sen...sie'?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"My teacher."

"'Teacher'? Are you training to be a warrior, then?"

"Something like that." Aaron replied, grinning in slight modesty.

"Well, then, you'll have to go up against me sometime. I'd really like to see what you can do." Rena's grin became more predatory. Aaron answered with a smirk of his own.

"I'd love to,"

Dia looked away. "Hmph! She thinks she's the greatest because she's older than most of the other kits!"

"Well, I am aren't I?!" Rena challenged.

"You two behave yourselves!" thier mother said, sternly.

"Yes, ma'am..." they said, sheepishly. Aaron smirked behind his hand.

"C'mon, I wanna show you my home!" Dia practically dragged Aaron up the flight of stairs, while the boy was haplessly pulled up.

"Ohhhh. I suppose I should go and make sure that her affection doesn't kill the poor thing..." Rena said, annoyedly. While she made her way up the steps, her mother smiled to herself, thinking

'That Dia, her affection will usually injure anyone, or anything.'

Upstairs, Dia led Aaron to a rather large room, most likely hers; it was decorated with pictures of flowers on the wall, and the decor was like that of most children's room on Earth, with a medium-sized book shelf, toy-box, and where the bed should be, was a large hammock, with a pillow, and covers.

"This is my room, if you haven't guessed yet," she said, proudly.

"I see." Aaron said, looking around. There were some dolls lying about, but were hardly noticeable, but what really caught his attention, was the window, he looked out, and could see the village, forest, even the mountains in the background. Dia joined him. He had a look of nostalgia about him, as he remembered his own home, and he wondered, if he'll ever see it again.

'This place is weird, but, it looks so much like Earth. I wonder...if mom, dad, and Robert are worried about me...' A tear trickled down his cheek at the thought. Dia noticed, and caught his sadness with her telepathy. She embraced her new friend, tightly, nearly crushing his ribs.

"Please, don't be sad. I don't want you to be sad while you're here..." she said to him. Aaron merely held onto the young vixen gently.

"Awww, now isn't this adorable?" They both turned, and saw Rena standing in the doorway. Dia pulled away, blushing in embarrassment. "You miss your home, don't you?" Rena asked, her voice losing its taunt, replaced by gentleness. Aaron merely nodded, while fighting back tears. "Don't worry. Our father will help you find your way, as soon as he gets home," she said, smiling.

"He's staying with us."

"...what?"

"Father said that Aaron will stay with us."

"Dia, this is no joking matter. You know he cannot stay here."

"That's what father said, and mother will agree." She turned to Aaron, who looked back at her, and shared her smile.

"Uhmmm, but, where will I sleep?"

"Right here, silly!" Aaron looked away, as if embarrassed.

"You...don't want to?"

"Of course not! Why would anyone want to sleep with a pest like you?" Rena said, laughing.

"Why you...you..."

"It's not that."

"Oh?"

"Where I'm from, boys and girls don't normally sleep in the same room."

"Really? That's strange."

"No, Dia, it isn't."

"But mother and father sleep in the same room."

"Because they're married."

"Oh, right." She seemed to consider, then finally spoke up,

"Well, I'll just have to marry you then."

"WHAT?!" Aaron's jaw dropped, while Rena stared at her, slack-jawed.

"Dia, you KNOW that can't happen."

"And why not?" she asked, placing her hands on her hips, furrowing her brow.

"Because he's-he's-he's-"

"Human?" Both turned thier heads at him.

"What?" Rena asked.

"That's what I am, a human."

"Uhhh, exactly. And, you're only nine years old! You don't even know what a marriage even is!"

"Yes I do! It's when two people who really like eachother come together for life." Dia said, matter of factly. Rena stared at her sister, wondering if they really do share the same bloodline, while Aaron also stared, wondering if all vulpines are this nuts. That's when Rena decided to provide for a distraction;

"Dia, what's that?!" she said, pointing outside the window.

"Huh? What? Where is it? I wanna see!" Dia was busy staring outside the window, to notice her sister whisper "Run," to Aaron, who got the idea. Both tiptoed out the room, and dashed down the hallway, while Dia continued to look outside;

"I don't see it, Rena. What did you-huh?" Dia looked behind her, and saw her room empty. Suddenly, she just realized what happened, and let her anger boil over. "Rena, you cheater, that wasn't fair!" Dia ran after them.

After making thier way outside, Rena and Aaron were running behind the house and into the woods. Aaron would've asked if they should be out here, after dark, but when he heard Dia shouting behind them, he pumped his legs faster. However, Dia was faster, and tackled Aaron in a large hug.

"Gatcha! Now I'll never let you go, no matter what!"

'Oh no, now what?!' Aaron thought, desperately.

'Don't worry. Just tickle her.'

"What?"

'My sister is really ticklish.' He looked at Rena, who nodded at him.

'Alright.'

"I told you, we'll be such good-" Dia stopped, as she was giggling slightly, due to Aaron. He tickled her on her stomach, sides, ribs, anywhere, anything to get her off of him. And, it was working.

"'Hee hee hee hee hee', stop 'hee hee hee hee hee' tickling-!" she couldn't finish, as she was overcome by laughter. soon, she was off of him, and curled up in a blue-furred, giggling ball. When the sensation stopped, she stopped laughing, looked up, and saw Aaron standing next to Rena. Then, her anger was replaced by sadness.

"You...don't want to be...my friend?" she asked, sounding close to tears. Aaron looked away, unable to face her. Dia stood up, angry tears in her eyes, and yelled "Well, fine! I don't wanna be your friend either! You two can be friends, and I'll be by myself, like always!" Dia ran away from them, with Aaron looking on.

"Dia, wait!"

"Hold it." Rena grabbed him by the arm. "Don't worry, she'll just-"

"LET GO!" he yanked out of her grip, while he shouted at her. He had an angry look on his face, and ran after Dia, leaving Rena dumbfounded.

'It's not fair...it's just not fair. Why her? Why does she always steal my friends?' Dia was running through the woods, thinking to herself. She should have been paying attention to in front of her, otherwise, she would have seen the rock that tripped her. She fell forward, and scraped her elbow. She sat up, crying, and started to lick the wound, tears coming down her face. Aaron caught up to her, and saw her sitting upon the ground.

"Dia, are ya okay?" She turned, and curled her lips back in anger.

"Go away! You're not my friend! You're not the boy I met in my dreams. That boy is...not real..." She turned her head away, tears still coming down. Aaron moved towards her. Her head snapped back up, and she resumed her angry stare.

"Please, let me help-"

"No! You're Rena's friend! Rena always takes my friends from me! Even when we were little, she took them from me, leaving me alone..." she cried heavily when she said this, and Aaron felt close to tears himself. He felt around himself, and pulled out his handkerchief, and moved towards Dia. When he got near enough to try to wipe her wound, Dia clamped her jaws on his forearm, eliciting a pained shout from him. He looked down at her, and saw that her eyes were tightly shut. Then, he started to wipe her elbow. When she felt this, Dia looked at her arm, and saw Aaron wipe the blood off, gently. She let go of his arm, and looked at her scrape. When he was done, it stopped bleeding. She looked back at him, then at his arm. Tears were forming again, as she realized what she did.

"Don't worry, it's nothing," he said, trying to smile. She took his arm in both hands, and licked the bite wound. It was bleeding, but the licking seemed to numb the sharp pain in his arm. He was watching her with fascination as she continued the action. When she was done, the blood flow had stopped, and it looked less red than it did before. Aaron looked at her, and she smiled slightly.

"I'm sorry. I'm just so-so-"

"Lonely." Aaron finished for her. She embraced him tightly, and Aaron returned it.

"Please, don't be lonely near me. I just want to be your friend. Rena takes all of mine, and I don't want to lose you too..."

"You won't lose me. I'll always be here, Dia-chan."

"What's 'chan'?" Dia asked, not pulling away. Aaron smiled, and said

"It means 'girl', where I'm from." She held him tighter after he said that. And then, he felt a great warmth well up from him; starting from his heart, then through out his body, and then a brilliant flash of light emanated from him.

Jim woke up, suddenly, and found himself in his room. 'The dreams are returning. I haven't had one like that since I left for M78.' Jim looked around his room, the young Ultra/human recollecting his past experiences. He remembers that he was sent away to M78 to begin his training as an Ultra warrior. Afterwards, was given the Lylat System to protect. However, the things that he has learned while he was in M78, have made him question whether or not he should be here. 'If what I know is accurate, then this place will soon become a battleground…' He let the thought hover over him, as he got up out of bed, and made his way to the window. He was staring out at the stars, and brought up his right arm which held the Spacium Brace, the item he uses to transform into his Ultra self. He stared at it, wondering if he really could do what it was that he was dreading, should any of them come here. Feeling a little hungry, he made his way out of the room and headed for the dining hall. Once he reached it, he opened one of the food cabinets and pulled out an energy bar.

"You know, those really are not good for you." He whirled, and saw the Star Fox team's telepath smiling at him. As a member himself, he found it hard to escape Krystal's notice, day or night.

"Really doesn't matter, just so long as I can get back to sleep."

"Then it does matter. I'll make us something." He got out of her way, as she began to pull out various items from the storage cabinet. The blue vulpine was pulling out several things of vegetables, as Jim thought of her as a 'veggie burger' with a laugh.

"So, how come you're up so late?" she asked, setting the food down on a counter.

"Bad dreams, I guess. Haven't had them recently, not since I returned. I remember, you were overjoyed after I saved you from that Bemstar." He said, chuckling.

"Well, that happens, when you are saved by a giant red and silver 'guardian angel'." she replied, smiling. Jim remembered how he had returned to Lylat and had picked up the distress signal from the Katina military base. When he got there, he saw his friends nearly get eaten by Bemstar. He narrowly saved them and dispatched the horrid monstrosity. After that, he fought a hard battle against Doragon, who attacked Corinthia. He narrowly beaten it, with some help from a familiar mercenary group. Since then, half a week ago, Krystal has been trying to get closer to him. Jim often turned away from this, on account of him being an Ultra, and she a Cerinian, but lately, that had hardly seemed to matter. After realizing that he was not the last of his race, as he had once thought, he had decided to expand his relationship with Krystal, just a bit more. He was still a little bit uncomfortable about inter-species relationships, primarily because, he doesn't know what the others would think of it. Krystal has shown that she doesn't care what others think, just so long as she is near him. When she was finished getting thier salads ready, she set the two bowls down on the table. He noticed her wearing her usual tank-top and shorts, while he was clad in his usual t-shirt and sweat pants. As both ate, Jim was lost in thought once more, primarily on what was going to happen in the future. His homeworld, Earth, was destroyed by an unknown entity, while Krystal's was lost in a similiar fashion. Then, he found out that he was an Ultraman, one of most powerful beings in the universe. After deciding to use his abilities to protect the Lylat System, he has wondered just how many battles he'll have to wage, before he can know peace. Krystal picked this up, and tried to comfort her friend; 'No matter how many battles you'll fight, how many monsters you'll face, you will always have me by your side. No matter what, even if all others give up on you, I will not lose hope.' Jim smiled at the telepathic message, and placed a hand on top of hers. Krystal looked down at thier hands, then looked back up at Jim, smiling.

From the personal journal of Fox McCloud: It has been a few days since Jim has returned to us. After his arrival from M78, strange things have been happening. The most notable, were the creatures attacking Katina base and Corinthia. Both have been destroyed by Jim. But I can't help but wonder, if they are connected somehow. Then there's Jim himself; Jim is an Ultra being capable of abilities that far exceed our own. I wonder, can I still trust him after all this time? Krystal says I should, but I follow my instincts, and they tell me to be wary of him. Will he be a powerful ally, or will absolute power corrupt him absolutely? Only one way to find out.

The team found themselves on a new mission, shortly thereafter; there were reports of strange activity in or around Zoness. "So why do we have to go in?" Falco asked.

"Because General Pepper said some of the ships sighted there, looked Venomian." Everyone in the briefing room wore shocked expressions, except for Jim who kept his blank. He already knew about Venom's role in the Lylat Wars, and how its mad ruler, Andross, almost became the emperor of Lylat. Star Fox put a stop to him years ago, and not just once but twice. If any of his followers remained, then... "Our job's clear, people; We're headin' for Zoness, and taking out anything that looks remotely Venomian." As Great Fox was nearing Zoness, Jim felt everyone's apprehensiveness, especially from Krystal.

'I guess Andross got to you more so than you thought, huh?' he communicated to her. They were both standing on the command bridge, looking out of the view port at Zoness; mostly covered by water, the planet was well known in the galaxy as a pleasure planet, where anyone could find just about anything; from a family vacation, to all manners of sin. At least, it did at one point. During the Lylat Wars, Andross used Zoness as a dumping ground, turning the once beautiful planet into a toxic waste trap. Although, over the years, The Cornerian government has worked to return Zoness to its original beauty, but at least ten percent of it remained unclean, leaving an ugly and polluted scar on an otherwise beautiful blue, green-specked world. Krystal was lost in thought, not really looking at Zoness. She didn't even notice Jim's telepathic message. He placed a hand on her shoulder, and it snapped her out of her trance. She looked at him, and smiled slightly. 'Sorry. It's just...'

'I know. I know what it was that he almost did to Sauria, and to you.' After his first defeat at the hands of Star Fox, Andross was little more than a wandering spirit, completely weakened. Then he discovered Sauria, and the Krazoa spirits that dwelt there. That was when he decided to act; using a mad general for his own ends, he manipulated General Scales, and Fox, to get him the Krazoa Spirits, using Krystal as bait for the young vulpine. It was there that, after being captured by Andross, did Krystal feel like that she was going to die. She never felt that sensation, not since the destruction of Cerinia. Her life-force was being drained by the Krazoa temple, but Fox was able to save her in time, and narrowly defeat Andross. Now, the thought of him coming back sent shudders of nostalgic fear down her spine. Jim sensed this from her, and communicated, with full confidence;

'If Andross is returning, I highly doubt he tangled with an Ultraman before.' Krystal looked at him, and he gave her a reassuring smile. She returned it and focused on Zoness once more.

"Sir, the team is now arriving at Zoness. Shall I give our agent the signal?"

"Well, we wouldn't want to waste their talents, now do we?" The figure sat in the recliner and stared out at the view of Corneria City.

The mission was, in a nut-shell, investigating reports of strange UFO sightings that may or may not be Venomian. If they were Venomian, then they were to be executed with extreme prejudice. Krystal and Jim would search on foot, and see if the supposed UFOs had a ground base of operations, while Fox and Falco searched the space around the planet, with Slippy and Peppy at tactical and guidance. Falco was a little less than pleased by the development;

"Why does Jim get to go down?! I haven't been to Zoness in months!"

"Because A. We need someone down there with a level head, and B. He's never been to Zoness before, Falco," Krystal retorted. They were in the hangar, getting thier arwings prepped. Jim was standing next to his while the blue beings were arguing. Jim couldn't help but overhear.

"All the more reason why it should be me going down! I know that place inside and out!"

"He has a point," Jim said. Both looked at him. "It wouldn't be exactly smart to send someone inexperienced down there, especially to look for something like a UFO landing field."

"Yes! Finally the voice of reason!" Falco said, triumphantly.

"But Jim, I've also been to Zoness. I know what to look for as well. Besides, have you forgotten already that I can read minds?" she asked, smiling.

"How many times, exactly, have you been to Zoness Krystal?" Jim asked.

"I've been there enough times to-"

"How many?" Jim asked again, more sternly. Krystal was dumbstruck. She couldn't believe that Jim, _her_ Jim, would question her like this. She answered, sullenly, "Three times."

"How about you, Falco? And a straight answer, not just a boast."

"At least ten."

"Not surprising." Jim turned to Krystal, who looked rather discouraged. Jim placed his hands on her shoulders.

"Krystal, what we need down there, most of all, is experience. I know that you want to work with me, believe me, I want to as well. But, not this time. I'd prefer someone who knows his way around the place, better than anyone. And Falco seems like right in his own element with Zoness." Krystal looked up at him, and returned his smile.

"Okay. Just, be careful down there for me, all right?"

"Trust me."

When Jim and Falco made planet fall, Both arwings landed on the small landing pads, designed for personal craft. When they exited the vehicles, the pads automatically erected a barrier around the ships, a security measure to prevent theft. The duo made thier way to the reception center, which was a large domed-shape structure. They went in, and saw it packed of all different kinds of Anthros. Not just Anthros, but also other species that Jim had never seen before.

"I see that Zoness is not just popular locally," Jim said, looking around.

"You have no idea. And this is a Monday. You should see this place on a weekend!" Falco said, ecstatically.

"Just remember one thing; You're not there for amusement! You're there to investigate possible Venomian sightings!" Krystal's voice sounded over thier transceivers. She sounded irritated, no doubt still chaffing about not being planet side with Jim.

"We know, Krystal. How are things on your end?" Jim asked. Krystal and Fox were orbiting the planet, keeping in touch with the ground team, and scanning the atmosphere for any craft designated as Venomian.

"Pretty boring, actually. I still wish I was down there, with you."

"I know you do. But, like I said, we need someone with experience. I'd have preferred that it was you and Falco, but you'd more than likely kill eachother if left unsupervised."

"I would not, and you know it." Krystal said, with mock-offended.

"Yeah, we all know that you're far too girly to hurt a fly." Falco teased.

"Falco, do _not_ make me come down there..." Krystal warned. Fox was laughing behind his hands. Jim was also trying to contain his own laughter, while Falco joined him. They signed off, and the duo moved towards the reception desk. While Falco was getting them signed in, Jim could feel Krystal through thier rapport, and how she wanted to be there with him.

'How about, later, you show me around Sauria? I'd prefer that place, over Zoness hands down.' Krystal caught the communication, and her spirits were instantly uplifted. Jim sensed this and smiled. Jim and Falco made thier way out of reception, and into the heart of Zoness; they came into a busy city square, where all kinds of shops, casinos, restaurants, even night clubs all lined the area. Jim could see easily that this was, indeed, a 'pleasure planet', where almost any kind of entertainment could be found, and sold. Falco and Jim walked down a bustling sidewalk, while hover-vehicles sliced down the roads. Jim always kept his eyes on his surroundings, his Army training working on auto-pilot as he scanned his surroundings for any possible attack. Iraq or Zoness, one should always be mindful of one's surroundings, and Jim felt like he should, especially since he felt like they were being followed.

"In case you were wondering, he's about a building and a half behind us." Falco said, not turning his head. Jim looked at him.

"I know, I just spotted him as we came in."

"Then, why-"

"To make sure that our new friend doesn't have friends of his own," Jim finished for him.

"Ah." Both continued down the sidewalk, and made a turn at a nearby alley. Then, a figure dressed in jeans, leather jacket, and a t-shirt followed after them. Just as he was entering the alley, he took small, purposeful steps. Just then, powerful hands grabbed him from his left, swung him around, and slammed him against the wall. Then, he was looking into the visage of a human dressed like a SWAT member. The figure's breath was caught in his throat. Just then, Falco stepped out from behind him, smiling broadly.

"You never learn, do ya Jeffrey?"

"No, I guess not." 'Jeffrey' lowered his head, which was adorned by a bright red cap, preventing Jim from I. him. Jim felt a hand on his shoulder, looked, and saw Falco nod at him. Jim merely shrugged, and released the assailant. Jim saw that another avian, who looked a lot like Falco, stood before them.

'Same feather coloring, but different style. Still, he's obviously a friend of Falco's at least. Maybe he knows something?' The two avians greeted eachother, and 'Jeffery' removed his cap, to reveal a mullet-styled mass of feathers. He turned to Jim and smiled.

"So, who's the new PIC?"

"This is Jim, Star Fox's newest member, and my disciple."

"Say WHAT?!" Jim shouted. "Falco, the day I become your disciple, is the day that God himself decides to freeze Hell over!" Jeffrey laughed at this.

"I see that you never changed, old friend."

"Nah. Same crap, different day, different job. How's the gang doin'?"

"Well, Katt's still torn up about ya. Won't stop asking about you."

"Really? We're talking about Katt, right? Our Katt? The Katt that could care less, if I was being slowly and agonizingly tortured to death?" Jim knew who they were talking about; Katt Monroe was, supposedly, Falco's girl when both of them were in a gang together on Katina. However, Falco decided to leave the gang, for whatever reasons, and ended up in the mercenary group. Obviously, his decision has more than ruffled her feathers a bit.

"Believe me, I wouldn't believe it either, but, I guess your leaving might've affected her more than we thought."

"Can we get back to the main subject at hand, here?" Jim said, irritably. Both avians looked at him. "You can both catch up, later. We have important business to conduct here. Unless, your friend knows something, Falco." he finalized, crossing his arms.

"My, an impatient one, aren't we?" Jeffery said, slightly smiling. He turned to Falco. "I know what it is that you guys are looking for, and believe me, you came at the right time." Falco cocked his head to one side, while Jim raised an eyebrow.

"Come with me," he said, gesturing for the pair to follow him. He led Jim and Falco out of the center, to what looked like an abandoned warehouse. The structure looked abandoned for years and was covered in graffiti of all kinds.

'Perfect place to hide an airbase,' Jim thought. All three of them were hidden behind road barriers, and waited tensely. Then, Jim felt the 'warning signal' in the back of his head go off once more. 'Something's gonna happen,' he thought. Just then, the top of the roof slid off, revealing an opening. Then several wedge-shaped craft flew out. Falco's eyes widened when he saw them, while Jim's face hardened.

"So, they are Venomians after all." Falco said out loud.

'I don't think so, Falco,' Jim thought to himself.

After the pair made thier way back to thier arwings Falco sent a report to Fox, while Jim was still pondering about the aircraft that they saw. 'I know that I have seen them from somewhere before, but where? Wait, they were wedge-shaped, and flew invertedly. Only one type of ship I know flies like that, but, that's impossible! There's no way for them to reach this far!"

"I see, so the rumors were right. Okay, meet us back up on Great Fox and we'll discuss our next plan of action." Fox sounded off on the radio, and Falco signed off as well. He turned to face the human.

"Hey, Jim!" Jim turned to face Falco. "Get on your arwing! We're heading back up!"

"Got it!" As Jim entered his arwing, he couldn't shake the feeling of dread from his mind. "Please God. Please, let me be wrong. Don't let them be what I think they are."

On board Great Fox, the team met in the briefing room, where the team, minus Fox, was seated. "Alright, we know for a fact that they are Venomian. Question is, how do we deal with them without civilian casualties?"

'I must know. I have to find out if my suspicions are correct.' Jim sat there in his chair, his thoughts whirling. Krystal picked this up, and became concerned.

"First, we must know what their plans are. Then we can act accordingly. Problem is, how do we do that?"

"I have to capture one of thier ships. It's the only way for me to be sure..." Jim said to himself.

"You say something Jim?" All eyes were focused on the human, who snapped out of his trance.

"Oh! I, uhh-"

"What Jim meant was, we should try to capture one of thier ships, and interrogate the Venomian. Right Jim?" Krystal turned to face the human, smiling slightly.

"Uhh, right. And, since they have a patrol out, I'd say now is a golden opportunity." Fox nodded in agreement, with the rest following.

"Alright, we'll try that idea out. Everyone, get ready!" As the team left the briefing room, Krystal confronted Jim.

"Do you know what those ships really are? If so, then please tell us." Jim walked up to her, then embraced her, whispering

"It's not the ships you should be afraid of, rather it should be the ones who made them," and walked on. Krystal stood there, unable to grasp what it was that he meant.

The team, in thier arwings, were in orbit around the planet. Jim was still brooding, his thoughts were a buzzing in his head; 'I hope I'm proven wrong. If I'm right, then Zoness is in a graver danger than a few measly Venomian raiders.' Krystal picked this up, and tried to probe further, but Jim had his mind blocked from such intrusions at all times. Then, they appeared; flying in a wedge formation, at least a dozen craft were headed right for them. Whether or not they were discovered by the oncoming craft was not known. That's when Jim tried to scan them; as soon as they were in range, his scanner indicated that they were no known craft, in or around Lylat, that resembled these ones. When he brought up the image of one, Jim felt the icy hand of fear go down his spine, for he recognized the ship at once. 'No. It's just not possible! They can't be here, not now!' But, it was plainly evident; the Keronia have invaded Lylat. Jim kicked his thrusters to full, and sped towards the patrol.

"JIM! What the hell are you doing?!" Fox's outburst rang in his headset. Jim switched it off, and focused on the Keronian ships.

"What the heck is that crazy kid doing?!" Falco asked. Krystal tried to get a fix on his thoughts, but what she got was recognition, and fear.

'He knows what those ships really are. Why didn't he tell us?' Then, the four remaining arwings sped towards the furious dog-fight. Although outnumbered twelve-to-one odds, Jim fought like a demon from hell; dodging, juking, and firing his charged shots and nova bombs at the ships, while the aggressors tried desperately to fight the human off, firing lasers of thier own. The streaks of white clashed with the emerald shots in the cosmos. Soon, Jim had the Star fox team backing him up, although they did not fight as fiercely as he did, still trying to capture at least one ship. But, Jim would not have it; he blasted at all of the wedge-shaped craft, till none were left flying. When the last ship was destroyed, Jim sat in his control console, breathing heavily, sweat coming in droves. 'I did it, I got all of them...' Just then, fox's visage appeared on his HUD, wearing a displeased look.

"Jim, would you mind explaining to us why the hell you just killed the Venomians like that?!" Fox shouted over his headset.

"They're not Venomian." said Krystal.

"What?!"

"They're not Venomian, are they, Jim?"

He was sobbing gently in his cockpit; "I'm sorry. I'm so sorry. I hoped, I prayed, I begged God that they wouldn't be what I thought they were, but..." Krystal flew her arwing close to Jim's, and the human could see the vixen in the canopy, smiling gently at him.

"You have nothing to be sorry about. You did what you knew was right, what you felt was right, given the circumstances that you were under."

"Krystal..." his tears came more freely, as the vixen continued to smile at him.

"Come on, let's head back for the Great Fox."

"Right. I'm right beside you."

"Of course you are, 'love'." she replied, smiling.

Back on-board Great Fox, Jim and Krystal were the last ones to arrive. Fox was standing in the hangar, arms folded, looking like he wanted to rip the head off of someone. As the pair approached him, Krystal gestured for Jim to remain back.

"I'll handle Fox."

"No, I will. And, you need to hear this as well." When Jim was within speaking distance to Fox, there was a loud noise of machinery, and when Jim looked to his right to see what it was, his heart sank; being pulled into the hangar by magnetic grapplers, was a nearly intact Keronian ship.

"What the hell are you doing?!" he shouted at Fox.

"Trying to salvage the situation. What you did out there, whatever your reasons, was uncalled for. You know we needed one of those ships intact, and you-" Jim ran towards the broken ship before Fox could finish, his face having a very worried look. As the vulpines made thier own way towards him, Jim turned to face them, and addressed Fox;

"Get that damned thing outta here, NOW!"

"No. We need this, and its occupant, intact. We need to know what it is the enemy is planning. If Venom is-"

"IT'S NOT FROM VENOM!"

"What?" Jim looked down, as both vulpines stared at him.

"This ship, and its occupant, are not from Venom. Trust me, if you knew what I do, you'll wish it was Venomian."

"What is it, then? Who or what is in there?!" Fox shouted. Jim turned his head towards the craft, and shouted;

"Alright, Keronian! If you are still alive, then get outta there so we can see you!" No movement. "You know what I am, and what will happen if I have to drag you out!" Still nothing. Jim smacked a fist against an open palm. "Alright, you wanna play that game, then let's play." Jim placed his Spacium Brace over his heart, and was about to place his left hand over the Brace, when an indistinct noise was heard. Then, the top part of the ship lifted up, and a type of gas was expelled from inside. After opening all the way, a humanoid-shaped crawled out, and landed on the floor of the hangar. It was wearing a type of jumpsuit, which was all black, with green protrusions on various parts of the body. The helmet was strange, since it was at least four times the size of a normal head, human or Lylat. As it made thier way towards them, Jim raised his Brace to his heart again, in a threatening manner. "Not a step closer, plant-man!"

'Plant-man?' Fox thought. He looked at Krystal, who wore the same puzzled expression as he did.

"Remove your helmet." Jim said. The humanoid made no movement to do so. "Remove your helmet, or I'll remove your head." Jim said, in a calm rage. Its hands tentively went towards the helmet. After pulling a strap on the 'chin, there was a sudden hissing sound of air being released, and the humanoid removed the helmet. The visage that the vulpines saw made them gasp in shock, while Jim remained stoic; what stared back at them, was a visage that was covered in green foliage, had two glowing eyes, and a mouth like cavity that made it look like it had a permanent grin. Its head was square shaped, with one side being higher than the other. It issued a very inhuman, very evil laugh.

"So, the Ultraman of this sector has finally sniffed us out. No matter. We may have been unable to subjugate the humans on Earth, but I'm sure that these pathetically lower animals would do nicely for what we have in mind."

"Jim, what is it talking about?" Krystal asked.

"Food."

"Wh-what?"

"Ha ha ha! He's right. We Keronias must take in fresh blood regularly to survive. We were about to take over the Earth and use the human race as cattle, but we were stopped by that infernal Ultraman Hayata. But, fortune smiled upon us! Using our even more advanced technology, we have extended our reach into space. And what's more, we have stumbled across your 'Lylat' system. Who needs a planet, when you have an entire solar system to feed your race? Ha ha ha! Even now, our sleeper agent awaits our signal, to begin preparations for the arrival of the rest of our brothers and sisters!"

"What?! A 'sleeper agent'?" Krystal decided to look into the plant-man's head. What she saw repulsed her; they planned on turning everyone in the Lylat system into thier new food source. She saw processing plants where innocent anthros were lead for the slaughter, and the children, that was the worst. They used the children as pets, or personal playthings while they felt nothing but fear, and despair. It was almost too much for her to handle, but she managed to control herself, barely. Fox looked over and saw her shaking, visibly, while feeling her repulsion and disgust through thier rapport. Jim felt it too, but kept his glare on the Keronian, who merely stared at them, wearing that permanent grin as if seeing Krystal's reaction to its thoughts brought it untold pleasure. Jim wouldn't be surprised if it did. Then, it issued another laugh and addressed Krystal;

"You like what you see? That is the fate of your entire race, to be nothing more than our food, and 'hee hee hee' amusement." It was enough; Krystal grabbed her blaster, and unloaded blast after blast into the Keronian. It issued an inhuman shriek, and burst into flames upon contact of the blasts. It fell to its knees, and became little more than ashes, suit and all. When there was nothing more than a pile of dust, Fox looked at the remains of its ship, and told Jim;

"Get it out of here." Jim nodded. He converted to his Ultra form, and pushed the remains out of the forcefield. Then, he used his Spacium Kousen to destroy the remains, sending the powerful white beam outside of the forcefield and obliterating the ship. He turned to Krystal, who looked rooted to the spot with a shocked look on her face. Jim picked up her thoughts, and felt that she was still dwelling on the fact that the children would be used in such a way.

'They're just children...just...children...' Jim placed his hands on her shoulders, and said "Are you still able to draw breath?" Puzzled, she nodded. "Can you still stand?" Again, puzzled, she nodded. "Then you can still fight, and with that in mind, you can help prevent that vision from happening. I promise." Tears in her eyes, Krystal collapsed into his arms. Jim held her, trying to console the young vixen. Jim looked out through the forcefield, and at Zoness. If not for his featureless, mask-like visage, one would see the anger in his face. Then, that's when he felt it; the 'warning signal' going off in the back of his head.

'Oh no. Does that mean that...'

"You know your orders. Now, carry them out, agent 368."

"Yessir." The anthro lowered his wristwatch communicator, and looked at all the people around him, smiling. He remembers how, as just a shrub, he took over this Doberman's body when he got just a bit too curious. Now he was wearing him like a meat-suit. He made his way through the throng of people and headed for the nearest building. His orders were, curiously enough, mass destruction.

'Should be fun, though can't help but wonder why.' As soon as he was behind the building, he shed his Doberman disguise; the body literally fell off of him, and his true form was revealed, that of the humanoid plant, Keronia-Seijin. Then, his form started to glow, and then expand. Soon, Keronia-Seijin became a fourty meter tall monstrosity, looking down at the people who were looking up at him in shocked fear. Then, Keronia issued a soul-chilling scream, and the people were sent running in almost every direction while Keronia ran amok on Zoness.

"HA HA HA HA HA! Poor, frightened animals! Your world is coming to an end! I have been waiting for this opportunity for an eternity, and now it is thrust upon me! Now, feel fear as never before!" Keronia tore through the city, and nothing could stop it. Smashing buildings left and right, Keronia felt unstoppable.

"Sir, why did you just order for Keronia to go into action so soon? You know that he has no experience against the Cornerian military."

"True, but even they are no match for him. Even so, I could care less about that planet. Rather, it is who will answer the call for help that interests me."

"If that's your plan, then you know that Keronia is no match for him."

"True as well. But then again, that is the point after all." The figure never turned from the view overlooking Corneria city during a beautiful sunset.

Still in his Ultra form, Jim was looking at Zoness. He felt the 'warning signal' kick itself into high gear, almost a fifteen minutes ago, but could not pinpoint the exact location of the disturbance. 'Where, where is it? Who's in danger?' Then he felt it, his senses telling him where to go. And he obeyed.

The rest of the team were going over thier arwings, doing routine checks after every mission, when Krystal looked up from her own arwing, and noticed Jim standing rooted at the spot, his gaze fixed at one spot. She went over to ask what was wrong, when he shouted "SHUWATCH!", and flew out of the forcefield, and towards Zoness. The others heard the shout, and rushed towards the forcefield.

"Now, where's that lunatic off to?" Falco asked, shaking his head. Krystal ran towards her arwing, and jumped into the cockpit. She started up the plasma engines, closed the cockpit, and placed the headset on.

"Krystal, where are _you_ going?!" Fox's voice rang out over her headset, sounding frantic.

"Following Jim. He wouldn't just take off like that." She gunned her thrusters, and sped off after the red and silver warrior. The rest of the team followed suit.

On Zoness, things were looking grim; the local security forces were at a loss to deal with Keronia. The Landmaster battalion and Cornerian Fighter squadron just could not handle the fourty meter tall plant-man, thier shots exploding harmlessly against armored leaves and foliage. What's more, Keronia had lasers of his own, the white beams emanating from his eyes. Whatever the beams struck, was instantly destroyed, exploding into millions of pieces. In mere minutes, the security forces were shredded into a bad memory. Keronia lumbered on, tearing through buildings, and crushing those unfortunate to be in his way. When he entered Zoness's atmosphere, and felt the people's fear, Ultraman Jim felt his fury sky-rocket. 'This thing will tear the world apart while its brethren feed on the helpless. I _cannot_ let that happen!' Jim hovered over the ruined city, while watching Keronia tear through it. Jim clenched a fist, and was breathing heavily. Krystal flew in behind him and hovered next to him, while taking in the scene with a mix of horror, and anger. Jim looked over to her, while she looked at him. Jim said nothing, just simply nodded at her, while she returned it, her face having a determined look. At that moment, Jim flew at Keronia and landed some distance away from it, making sure that no one was around. Then Jim made a gesture; he placed his hands, fingers facing up, straight, on the outside of his warning light. Then, he thrust his elbows outward, his fingertips just barely touching the edge of his warning light. The action elicited a crimson flash of light, and Jim was now as tall as the giant Keronian. Keronia faced the red and silver Ultra, and Jim got into his battle stance. After a face off, Keronia charged. Jim countered, by grabbing the plant-man, rolling onto his back with his foot planted on its abdomen, and sent the plant man flying into the remains of a destroyed building. Keronia Got up, and roared at Ultraman. Jim made a 'come hither' gesture, and Keronia answered the taunt. Keronia again charged, and tried a flying tackle, but Jim dodged this attack by side-stepping out of the way. After Keronia crashed into the ground, Jim jumped onto it, and started to rain down punches onto its head. Keronia threw Jim off of it, and Jim got back up on his feet after doing a back-flip. Keronia decided to switch strategies; It attacked with its eye-beams, which Jim evaded by cart wheeling. Keronia tried in vain to hit the red and silver fighter, but Jim was doing backflip after backflip, avoiding the beams as they hit either the street, or the surrounding buildings. Keronia screamed in rage and Jim got back up on his feet, fists planted on his waist. This time, he would not move. Keronia fired his eye beams once more, and Krystal watched and gasped. Just as the beams struck his chest, they were repelled. It was like they were hitting a steel wall. Keronia roared, while Jim pounded a fist against his chest, a sign of power. Suddenly, the rest of the Star Fox team arrived, and hovered next to Krystal.

"Whoah, things are starting to heat up." commented Slippy. Falco merely looked on in shock, as his favorite planet was being torn apart at the seams by the two warring giants.

'Time to finish this.' Jim thought. He got into his Spacium Kousen stance, and fired the white beam. However, the beam was deflected off of Keronia's hard leaves, much like its own eye beams were deflected off of Jim's body. The team looked on in shock at what just happened.

"Oh, no! Now what?!" Slippy shouted.

"I think that's our-"

'No!' Jim's telepathic message cut off Fox.

'Don't do anything! I have this.' Jim looked back at them, and nodded. 'Trust me.' He turned his attention back at Keronia. The plant-man charged, and was going to tackle Ultraman. Jim answered with a jump-kick to its face. Keronia was sent stumbling head first into a hotel and Falco let out an audible groan. Keronia stumbled to its feet, and faced Jim. Jim ran towards it, grabbed its arm, and did a shoulder toss, sending it face first into the pavement. Then, he picked him up, and did the same action again, and again. Then, after Keronia was lying face up on the ground, Jim went around and grabbed the plant-man by the legs and began to swing him around. After five swings, Jim let go and Keronia was sent flying into more destroyed buildings, sending the ruins crashing down on the plant-man. Keronia uneasily got out of the wreckage, and was stumbling towards the Ultra. Jim nodded, and got into a stance; He placed both of his arms at his sides, with the elbows bent at the waist, the fists at waist level. Then, yellow energy swirled from his left arm, to his right. After a few seconds, Jim thrust his right arm out forward, and the energy swirled out, and made contact with Keronia. As soon as it did, Keronia fell to a knee, and was frozen in place, as if paralyzed. Then, Jim made an 'X' shaped arm gesture at his chest, just over his warning light. Keronia flashed, and exploded into millions of pieces. Krystal breathed a sigh of relief.

"Whoah, cool. I wonder what that was?" Slippy said.

'Ultra Attack Beam.'

"Wha- who said that?"

'The technique, Slippy, is called the Ultra Attack Beam.'

"Whoa, was that-" Slippy was looking at Jim, who in turn looked up at the arwings, and nodded. His warning light flashing steadily. Jim looked up, his fists planted on his waist, and shouted "SHUWATCH!", and was away, with the team following him.

"Sir, Keronia was just eliminated,"

"Just as I had planned. Did you retrieve the data?"

"What little there was, sir."

"Good. You may leave us." As soon as the gaurd left the door, the figure turned towards another person, standing in the shadows.

"It is almost time for you to act, my dear."

"Of course, sir." Just then, Clara stepped out of the shadows, wearing a carnivorous grin on her lupine features.

On board Great Fox, Jim was looking out at the stars in his room, lost in his thoughts.

'I know I should've told everyone about the Keronia, but, they would've found it hard to believe, that plant-men were coming to take over Lylat. Falco, Slippy, and Fox took out the warehouse where the ships came from. They said that it was mostly empty, save for some machinery, so it is possible, that they may return.' Krystal sensed her friend's thoughts, and came by to check on him.

"Feeling okay?"

"Yeah, just, I wish Fox would have just a bit more faith in me..."

"Don't worry. He'll come around soon enough. He just doesn't see you as I do." Krystal embraced Jim from behind, and Jim held her hands in his while resting his head against Krystal's. Both, were lost in star-gazing, wondering where thier next mission will take them.


	10. I am a Hero

Chapter 10

I am a Hero

He was floating in the endless reaches that is the cosmos. Black, specked with white stars, he looked down at himself, and saw that he was silver with red. At that moment, Jim knew that he was in his Ultra form. He looked around and saw nothing but stars. Then, a bright flash of light appeared in front of him. He had to shield his eyes from the glare. When it subsided, he looked at what the light had brought; it was humanoid, like himself, with curves that made him think that it was a female, though he could not tell due to the fact that it was glowing too brightly to see clearly. All he could make out was the shape.

"Who are you?" he asked. It answered, in a voice that Jim knew that he had heard from somewhere before;

"You already know, my betrothed." Then, a great flash again came from the being and engulfed Jim.

Jim awoke in his room, sitting straight up, covered in sweat. He got up from his bed, and walked towards the mirror. He was shirtless, and was wearing his usual black sweat pants. He gazed at his near-perfect form, the muscles showing proudly on his body. Ever since his awakening, his body underwent changes; he was stronger, faster, and had keener senses than before. He even gained slight telepathic abilities, and slight ESP. However, those were far from his mind at the moment.

"I know I saw her from somewhere before, but where? I need to know. I have to know just who that girl is," he said to himself. He looked at the time, and saw that it was still late, only 2 a.m. He got back into bed, and tried to fall asleep. After what seemed like an eternity, sleep overtook him.

From the personal journal of Fox McCloud; Jim has shown that he has grown more accustomed to his abilities. Against what he called a 'Keronian', he used a new technique when his usual attack failed. I wonder, when his potential is fully realized, will he still be willing to fight for us. I know that I should trust him, but compared to us, he is like a god. In all the battles that he has been through, he has always come out on top, no matter what. The people will probably see him as a savior, which is what Jim wants to be; to become the same hero that he idolized as a child, just like I idolized my father when I was young. But still, I've seen what power can do to people, Andross being a prime example. I hope, I pray, that Jim does not take the same path as that mad ape. On a more cheerful note, Fara's brother's birthday is coming up, and the team has been invited. Jim has never met Fara before, nor the Phoenix family for that matter. I'm sure, that this occasion should be more jovial, especially for Jim, since he has never really had any time to relax since his 'awakening'. And the Phoenixes should be quite interested to meet our newest member.

When Jim was told about meeting the Phoenixes, he was a little less than jovial, though he tried his best to hide it. The others believed him, except for Krystal. The telepath saw right through him. She picked up his apprehensiveness, and decided to try to talk to Jim about it. "I know what's bothering you. You feel that this might bring up painful memories of your own past." They were both standing in her room, with Jim looking out of her viewport, clad in his usual tan shirt, and acu pants, while Krystal was wearing a yellow blouse.

"I never thought I'd think about my family like this. My memories of them seemed so far away. But now they're rushing back at me like a bullet. I know I have to confront this head on, but..."

"Don't worry. I'll be right beside you. It will not be like the last time I tried to bring you out of your shell."

"I hope not. I'd hate to see a robot trash the place." His attempt at humor was not withstanding, though it did somewhat lessen his mood a bit. Krystal wrapped her arms around Jim and held him like that, resting her head on his shoulder while they stared out in space.

The team made planet fall near the Phoenix's home in thier arwings. The team got out before Jim did. They were greeted by three vulpines; an elder male, probably Fara's father, Jim guessed, followed by her mother, and Fara herself as she ran to embrace Fox, and share a kiss with him. Outside, Fara's father noticed the fifth arwing and the occupant inside.

"Who's the new guy?" they all turned and saw the canopy open up, and Jim, clad in his usual black and blue uniform, climbed out. When he got down on the ground, he was still wearing his shaded eye-pro, but the fennecs did get a good look at him. Fara's parents were rooted to the spot, not used to seeing a human before. Fara stepped forward, wearing a smile.

"You must be the new member," Jim removed his eye-pro, and grinned slightly.

"I am at that. And you are Fara, correct?"

"Yep." Jim stuck out his hand, and Fara took it. Krystal beamed, while Fox grinned, along with the other team members. Fara's parents got over thier initial shock, and stepped forward. Fara's father looked like the scientist that Fox described him as, being thin, with glasses, a pipe in hand, and large ears that were normal of his race. Fara's mother, on the other hand, looked beautiful, in her light blue dress, and piercing brown eyes. She had the same large fennec ears, but were noticeably shorter than her husband's. Both stepped forward, and Fara's father was the first one to speak;

"Greetings, stranger. What name do you go by?" He asked, as if speaking to someone from a foreign country. Jim stared, not really knowing what to say to that, except for the expected "Uhhhh..."

"DAD! Don't be rude! He knows Cornerian just as well as you do!" Fara defended.

"Sorry, but this the first time I met a huffman before,"

"Human."

"Beg your pardon?"

"I am a human. And my name is Jim. Nice to meet you." Jim stuck out his hand, and Fara's father took it, smiling.

"Sorry. Never met one quite like you before."

"Understandable. Half a year ago, I didn't think that your kind existed, as well." Jim said, smiling. Fara's mother walked up, and Jim offered her the same gesture, which she accepted.

"I don't suppose that you eat the same type of food that we do," she asked, smiling. Jim returned it, answering;

"Where I'm from, we normally eat first and taste it later. Although, I'll make an exception." The team were led inside a rather lavish manor, with thier arwings parked outside, on the privately owned landing pad. Fara's father was famous as an engineer, and his advancements in aeronautics and space technology.

"He practically wrote the book on space-flight," Fox commented. He was also noted for designing the arwing space-fighter. However, he gives the real credit to his daughter, Fara.

"Without her, the fighter would not be able to get off of the ground. She was the brains behind the G-diffuser system."

"I'm curious. What, exactly, does the G-diffuser system do? I never really thought about it, but since I'm here," he asked, turning to Fara. She smiled, and explained; it was primarily designed to lessen the gravitational stresses that are put on both pilot, and craft. However, through an unintended stroke of luck, it also served as a power generator.

"Originally, I never intended it to be used that way, but we found out that the system also harnesses the stresses to be used as a power source. It's what provides the shielding and propulsion of the ship."

"Amazing. At least decades, if not centuries, ahead of anything my people ever had."

"How advanced are the human race?" Fara's father asked.

"Not that advanced, I'm afraid. We've barely stepped out into space, as it is." Jim didn't want to tell them about the fate of Earth, and tried hard not to mention it.

"Then how did you end up in Star Fox, or the Lylat system, for that matter?"

"I'd... rather not say. It's a personal issue for me."

"I see. I won't press the issue, then. Just tell me, How far are you into your development?"

"Compared to you, not very far. We have built our fist orbital space station and set foot on our natural satellite, but other than that, most of our resources is spent on trying to kill eachother."

"Why would an entire race want to do that?" Fara's mother asked, who seemed shocked.

"It's...what we do. My race...isn't exactly one you would want to meet right now, not until we have matured. Don't get me wrong, we do have our good points and all, but..." Jim looked away while he hung behind them. Talking about conflicts, brought up the memories of when he was fighting in Iraq, and how he had lost his friends there. Krystal picked this up, and tried to change the subject;

"Uh, how is Cody doing?"

"Oh, he's fine. He's excited that you were able to make it."

"I'm sure. It's been awhile since last I saw him." Fox said smiling while Fara held onto his arm. Jim noticed that thier tails were entwined with eachother. He looked on, feeling a little envious for Fox, when he felt an arm around his. He looked, and saw Krystal holding it, and saw her comforting smile.

All the while, they were led through the Phoenix's home, and Jim saw where a good portion of Fara's father's funds went; The manor was decorated in a, what he thought, was the usual manner in which the wealthy and well off usually spend thier money, with paintings adorning the walls, busts made out of marble, and all the latest in modern entertainment technology; pleasure holos, miniature robotics, even a large flat screen in the spacious den. Jim looked on, and smirked.

'What's so funny?' Krystal communicated via telepathy, looking at him.

'Nothing. Just, I guess no matter where you go, people are the same. However, Fara's father must get off pretty well to afford all of this.'

'You have no idea.' Jim was taken aback by Fox's communicated thought.

'That's right, Krystal can allow me to communicate with others telepathically. The same with you, as well.'

'I see. She's a living communication device, I guess. No offense intended, Krystal.'

'None taken,' she replied, smiling. When they reached what looked like the back yard, as Jim would've called it, he could see all the major festivities were taking place. A group of children were gathered around a hologram that Jim couldn't see clearly, but thought he recognized it from somewhere.

"Hey, Cody!" At that moment, a young vulpine, ten, maybe eleven years old, whirled, and beamed at Fox's grinning face. He ran over, and embraced him. Fox knelt down, and accepted it. Everyone's faces were smiling, except for Jim's whose remained stoic. That's when Cody turned to face the human. He let go of Fox, and walked over to him. Jim knelt down to his level, grinning slightly.

"Who are you?" Cody asked, wonder in his voice. Jim only smiled.

"I'm Jim."

"Oh, the new guy." Cody beamed. Jim wore a mock look of puzzlement, while pointing to himself.

"'New Guy'?" he asked.

"It's what Fox called you while talking to my sister. He said that you're a good pilot."

"I see," he glanced over at Fox, who merely shrugged. Jim tussled the young vulpine's head and stood back up. Cody ran back over to Fox, saying;

"You gotta see this!" He practically dragged the older fox to the holo.

"He sees him as an older brother." Jim said.

"Of course. Fox has been with him since he was born."

"Fox has been with this family since at a young age, hasn't he?" Krystal looked away, a look of sadness apparent. From what Jim knew, Fox's history wasn't too different from the game's own info; After his father's death at the hands of Andross, The Phoenixes, who were good friends of Fox's family, took the young vulpine in. Fara and Fox were already fast friends, and staying with eachother since childhood only cemented thier relationship into true love. Living by his father's advice to never give up, and spurred onward by Fara, Fox enrolled into the Cornerian Academy and graduated with Falco and Slippy. At that time, Peppy, who was also a good friend of the Phoenixes, approached Fox and offered him the chance to lead the new Star Fox team, an offer the vulpine found impossible to turn down. And the rest, the games almost covered completely, saved for the glaringly obvious details.

'When you found out about Fox and Fara you were heartbroken, weren't you?' Jim communicated, softly.

'I do admit, that I did have something of a crush on him. When I met Fara for the first time, and explained to me that she and Fox were seeing eachother, I felt so...alone. But, Fox told me to not give up, that I would find someone out there.' At that time, she looked at the human, and he looked back at her.

"You believe that it is me, don't you?" She merely looked at the group of children, a small smile on her features. At that moment Jim felt a tail wrap around his leg, and felt Krystal hold his arm even tighter, while Fara was doing the same to Fox. In fact, the whole team seemed to crowd the holo.

'What's got thier attention, I wonder?' Jim thought.

"Jim! Come and see this!" Both human and vulpine moved at Peppy's words. When he was close enough, Jim saw what had captivated them so;

'Me. They're looking, at me.' They were looking at Jim, or rather his Ultra form. They were watching a news broadcast, and it was primarily about the newest visitor to the Lylat System. The scene was Jim fighting Doragon, just outside of Corinthia, while a smaller image of a female poodle in a work dress with the Cornerian News Network logo behind her as she commented;

"It has been at least three weeks since the first appearance of this mysterious red and silver giant in Lylat. Showing up first on Titania, where it dispatched against an equally large creature, who had been labeled as the one who had destroyed the military base there by the Star Fox team, and finally, has appeared here to destroy the creature that would've ended Corinthia city. Unsubstantiated rumors about this giant being a new type of military weapon have been brought to light, of which General Pepper, head of the Cornerian Army, has blatantly stated as false, saying that the military has nothing to do with him. However, certain individuals remain uncertain." The fight scene shifted to that, of a mic being held in front of an avian, probably a pigeon, as he spoke;

"I don't buy General Pepper's bull! I say it is a secret weapon, and that they were giving it a test run! They don't care who they hurt, so long as they get results!" Jim clenched his fists, as the scene shifted to a female collie.

"It's just another cover up! They were testing out a new robot weapon with those supposedly phony attacks that claimed those innocent people's lives! If you ask me, whoever is running that thing is no more than a glory-hog and a self-centered prick!" He was feeling his anger build up, and felt like exploding.

'Jim, calm down, please!' He heard Krystal's mental plea, looked at her, and nodded slightly and looked at the ground.

"I don't believe that!" All eyes turned to Cody, who looked at the holo. "I don't believe that he's a glory-hog! He's on our side, and he helps people!" Jim was moved by this.

'A child, is sticking up for me?' He looked at Krystal, who simply smiled and nodded. Jim walked over to the young vulpine, through the crowd, and placed a hand on his shoulder.

"Cody, why do you believe that. For all you know, he could be just one of those monsters."

"But he isn't!" he nearly shouted. He turned to Jim. "If he was, then why would he try to take that thing out, _away_ from Corinthia? He helps people."

"This just in, we got footage of the giant showing up at Zoness." Everyone turned to face the screen, as the holo shifted to Jim facing off against Keronia. Then, it showed the battle between the two of them, with Jim having the upper hand.

"Whoever he is, though, he sure is strong," said a child. Cody simply looked on, while Jim tried to feel the boy's emotions. It was mostly awe, with a bit of wonder thrown in.

'Does he instinctively know, a hero when he sees one?' Jim thought.

"I wonder, just what it is that he is called." Fara's father said.

"Uruturaman,"

"I beg your pardon?" Eyes turned to Jim, who was staring at the holo. He snapped out of his funk, and looked at the others, smiling sheepishly.

"Sorry. It's just, he reminds me of similiar looking entity that appeared on my world."

"Really? So, he appeared on your world, as well?" That was when they started to gather around him, as if he could shed some light on this mystery. Jim cleared his throat, and spoke;

"I said that it was an entity that resembled him, although the resemblance is uncanny. He protected my world from global annihilation, and my people are indebted to him."

"I thought you said, that yours was a warlike race," Fara said.

"They are. But, like I said, we humans have our good points, as well. Those are what touched 'Uruturaman' the most. Because of my own race's capabilities for compassion, mercy, and even love, he became its fiercest guardian, until, the incident."

"What incident?" Cody asked.

"When my world...was no more." Almost everyone gasped slightly, especially the children.

"Your home was...destroyed. Why didn't urutara, er, he try to save it?"

"He wasn't there to. After fighting a difficult battle against a powerful opponent, Uruturaman suffered a critical injury. He had to return to his homeworld, or die. He returned just in time to see my world, Earth, die. However, I think that he knows that I have survived Earth's fate, and had followed me here to the Lylat system. And now has decided to protect it, just like he did Earth." All the while, Jim wore a sad expression, that slowly perked up.

"That name that you use for him, Uruturaman, what does it mean?" Fara's father asked.

"It's in my native language. In translation with your own language, I would believe that it means...Ultraman."

"Ultra...man...Hmmm. It sounds rather..."Ultra-good"," The kids laughed with Fara's father, and Jim joined in a little, and looked back at the holo.

'Ultraman. I guess, that this really _is_ my destiny, to become the protector of Lylat just liken other Ultramen was the protector of my world.'

'And we'll stand right beside you, 'Ultraman Jim',' Krystal communicated with a laugh. Jim looked at her, and returned her smile.

The rest of the party went by, pretty much as Jim would expect it to, with games, the birthday cake, opening of gifts, and sharing and creating memories with friends. The one that Jim would probably remember most fondly, would be the type of karaoke machine, that Fara's mother pulled out.

"Alright, who will go first?" she asked, turning to both Fara and Fox. Both of them smiled openly, as they took the mics, and stood in front of the squat machine. Fox entered his PAD into the machine, and looked at Fara, grinning slightly, while Fara returned it. The song that they had selected, was a country themed song. Jim neither hated, nor really liked the genre that much, but he did at least listen to the music, more so than the lyrics, of which both of the vulpines sang. Behind them, the holo was showing images of a country home, with a happy couple, raising a family.

'Fox's desire,' Jim thought.

'His heartfelt desire,' Krystal communicated. He looked at her, and she at him. He felt her emotions for him, but felt he wasn't quite ready to return them, just yet. She simply nodded, and held onto him. When the song ended, the crowd applauded. When both vulpines stepped away from the machine, Fox handed Jim the mic. He looked at it, and asked

"Seriously?" Fox nodded, grinning slightly. Jim looked back at Krystal, who nodded an encouragement. Jim shrugged, and took the mic. He stepped in front of the machine, took out his own PAD, and inserted it into the slot. He was scrolling down the menu of songs, thinking he should have used his MP3 instead, but didn't think the two technologies were compatible. Fortunately, the PAD had all of his personal favorite songs. He scrolled down until he found the one, that he felt was perfect. He saved it, and prepared to play it, and spoke into the mic.

"This song, is in my native language, so you will not get the lyrics. But the feel of the song, is simple enough for even a child to know what the song itself is about." The song Jim had picked out, was none other than 'Shinnin' on Love,' a personal favorite of his. It was in Japanese, but like he said, the overall feel of it, was simple enough for even a child to comprehend, especially with the holograms behind him, showing all the Ultras, in all thier glory; Zoffy, Ultraman Hayata, Ultra Seven, Ultraman Jack, Ultraman Ace, Ultraman Taro, Ultraman Leo, and Ultraman 80. All of them were moving across the holo, while Jim sang. He saw the look of awe and wonder on the children's faces, and smiled himself. Then, some of the more recent Ultras appeared; Tiga, Dyna, Gaia, Cosmos, Nexus, Max, and Mebius. Even the animated Jonias and USA Ultraman, and the Australian and American Ultraman Great, and Ultraman Powered made thier appearances, and the crowd took it all in, as the images swelled, and they all fit together, while it appeared that they were looking at the Cornerians. Everyone stared, open mouthed or slack-jawed, at the holo. All the while, the Ultras struck thier respective poses, while shouting with thier distinctive voices. Finally, the song ended, with a holo of a shining blue and green planet. Most of them thought that it was Earth. When the song ended, the people applauded loudly. When Jim stepped away from the machine, the kids surrounded him, all of them talking at once, asking if he knew about anything more about the red and silver giant. Jim grinned broadly, thinking

'Even if I can't convince the public, just yet, at least the kids know that Ultraman is a hero, just like on Earth.' He looked at Krystal, who smiled openly at him.

"Sir, Algorian is ready as you have requested."

"Good. Let's see just how powerful this Ultra is." The figure sat in the recliner, while going over the PAD, smiling to himself.

Inside the Phoenix home, evening was settling on the landscape, while Jim was lost in thought once more. Krystal picked up his thoughts, and felt what it was he was thinking,

'I should've seen this coming. Of course they'd be suspicious of me at first. And why wouldn't they be? All I have to prove myself is to fight the 'monster of the week', whenever it appears.' Jim shook his head, as he stared out at the scenery. 'At least, the children have placed thier confidence in me,'

'There's always a first,' Jim whirled at Krystal's telepathic message. They were standing on a balcony, on the second floor. Jim felt like he had to get away, to clear his head. Krystal came up from behind, and placed an arm around Jim's shoulders.

"I know that the news broadcast is bothering you. You are right, in that the people need time to get used to you. Also, the children do trust you."

"Of course they do. Kids have an innate ability to see things that adults can't. We simply pass it off as innocence, but, that is not the case. Kids know, and that fills me with a little hope." Krystal placed her head on his shoulder, and looked out at the mountain range.

"When you said, that if everyone else lost faith in me that you would not, were you being serious?"

"Of course I was." she said, chuckling slightly. "Do you not believe me?"

"I just wanted to make sure. I don't know what will happen in the future, and, I need all the help that I can get." She laughed to herself, a little bit, and replied.

"I didn't think that an invincible hero ever needed help. Or, are you more human than you realize?"

"And what's _that_ supposed to mean?" He glared at her, and she never lost her smile.

"It means that you are not losing yourself, like you had feared." Jim stiffened a little bit at the comment.

"I know, that you were afraid that you would lose who you are, should your power awaken within you." He should've known better, than to try to hide his fears from a telepath, especially if the telepath in particular was named Krystal.

"Fox also fears the same thing. Mine own mental abilities are not as keen as yours are, but, I can feel it from him. He's worried that, I'll let my own power get to my head, make me think that I'm better than everyone else. He's not at fault for worrying like that. Any sensible person would feel the same way." He turned again, to face her. "So tell me, why is it, that you don't feel afraid of me? Why do you trust me so readily, knowing what it is that I am?"

"Because I know what it is that you are; a hero." She embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder. He felt her emotions for him. He was willing to return them, but, only in private, without prying eyes watching them. He wanted, to really know what it was she felt for him. He felt her compassion, caring, and kindness from her for him, but felt that there was something deeper, something else below the surface.

It was rising from the sea. It felt a great hunger, in its gut. And, an intense need to satisfy it. It has been released for that very reason, to satisfy itself. Only part of its back rose from the surface of the ocean, and not even much of it could be seen. If viewed from the air, however, one could see a spiny fin swimming towards the shore of Corneria City, along with a great, dark mass below it. And that, is exactly what a passing Cornerian Fighter saw. The pilot sent the report back to CAHQ, along with aerial photos of the shape. The info was received, processed, and sent to General Pepper. He received the report, and felt a grave tingle in the back of his skull. 'No living sea creature on Corneria has been reported to get that big. And, only two people I know of are capable of making bio-weapons. One of them died, twice, and the other has been dead for years. What are we dealing with?' he thought, looking at the photo while reading the report on his PAD.

"Miss Heather, get me the commander of the Cornerian City garrison."

"Right away, sir." his secretary answered. After a few moments, a male voice sounded over his comm, young, and militaristic.

"Yes, sir. What do you need?"

"Commander, I want your forces put on full alert. You have something big headed your way, and I also want you to prep evacuation procedures should the need arise."

"Yessir! Should I expect support?"

"I'll try to get you as many as I can possibly spare." Pepper signed off, hoping that _he_ wasn't behind all this.

Jim felt it. The 'warning signal' was blaring in the back of his skull. Krystal felt the sensation emanating from him, and looked at him, her face was that of concern. Jim looked down at his right arm and rolled up the sleeve, exposing the Ultra Brace. It pulsated, while glowing with each pulse. Jim looked at Krystal, who simply nodded. Jim smirked, and both ran down the steps and made thier way outside towards thier arwings. Both had started thier thrusters, and were starting to hover in the air. The rest of the team, plus the family, heard the commotion and made thier way outside just in time to see two arwings take-off into the sky. Fox looked back at the team, who simply nodded at him, and made thier way to thier own craft, and the three craft followed after Krystal and Jim.

It lumbered onto shore, as the sun was just beginning to set, and the first traces of twilight could be seen. Algorian, in all of its hideously amphibian glory made its way to the city. What the people saw, made them gasp in horror; It was fifty meters tall, with gray flesh, a long, drooping neck with a small fish-like head with a needle-toothed maw, long arms with webbed claws that hung low, the claws almost touching the ground. It had a large fin going down its spine, and a tail, ending in a horizontal flipper. It looked to be shambling along, in a hunched-like skulk as it made its way into the city. It issued a low gurgling growl, and picked up a hover-car with a family still inside. The family screamed in terror as Algorian brought the vehicle to its mouth, its eyes were a complete gray blank. It chewed through the metal, and swallowed the remains. It then appeared to perk up a bit, and became more active. It then started to tear through the city, taking all the hover vehicles that it could find, and gulp them down. A mother badger was carrying her daughter in her arms, as she tried to escape with the crowd. However, she saw falling rubble ahead from a nearby building that Angorian threw an empty vehicle at. She stopped and ran into an alleyway, while people ran past them, trying to escape the monster. The little girl, no more than eight years old, held herself close to her mother while she tried to tell her daughter that everything will be alright. She prayed that she would not be turned into a liar. The garrison was fully mobilized, with its Landmaster tank battalion and Cornerian fighter squadron fully armed and in action. However, they could not seem to harm the horrid amphibian, as the Landmaster's rounds were striking only grazing blows against the pale flesh while Cornerian fighters buzzed angrily around its head. Algorian swatted them away, and stepped on the tanks, not really looking down at them at all. It just wanted food, that was all. When the Star Fox team arrived, flashbacks of what happened at Corinthia flashed through everyone's heads, especially Jim's.

'Is this my fate? To forevermore fight these monsters, wherever they appear, and if I'm not quick enough people get hurt? Is that my lot in life?' Feeling his fury build up, Jim gunned his thrusters, right at Algorian.

"Jim, wait!" But Krystal's plea fell on deaf ears as Jim flew at the fish-like terror. Jim let loose a couple of Nova bombs at its head, both of which successfully connected. The rest of the team followed suit, taking shots at the monster. Algorian was feeling rage as it tried in vain to swat the annoying craft out of the air. When it tried and failed, several times, it opened its maw, and a stream of fluid sprayed out. It missed the craft but hit a few of the buildings. They were turning into a puddle of goo.

"Watch out, that thing spits acid!" Slippy cried.

'That's it! I need to convert now!'

'No, wait!'

'Krystal, what-'

'Think about it; if you were to change now, then Corneria City might know your secret!'

'You think I care about that right now? All I care about is stopping that thing!' Just then, a spray of acid was aimed at him. Jim avoided most of it, but not all. Some of it hit his fuselage, and his engines became compromised, forcing him to eject. As soon as he did so, he placed the brace over his heart, where it flashed, and Jim placed his left hand over the brace, then thrust both of his arms out, cross style, shouting "GAIYOOOO!" He glowed crimson, and he turned into a ball of fire. He crashed into Algorian, and sent it crashing into an abandoned ware house. Jim landed on a knee, converted into Ultraman Jim. He got to his feet, and got into his combat stance, while issuing a shout at Algorian. Algorian regarded this new threat, and rushed at it, intent on feeding. Jim reached out with his senses, and felt nothing but hunger from the beast.

'Just a mindless eating machine,' he thought. Jim leapt over the running beast, and landed behind it. Algorian turned from side to side, wondering where its prey went. Jim then leapt up, and landed on Angorian's back, forcing the beast down, and started to rain down blow after blow on the beast. Algorian shrieked in displeasure, and tried to rise, but Jim remained on top of it, and continued his merciless assault. Finally, Algorian got back to its feet, knocking Jim off of it. Jim did a backwards somersault and came back up on his feet. Algorian faced the red and silver warrior while Jim got back into his battle stance. Then both charged and grappled with the other. They tried to overpower eachother, but one could not overcome the other. Then, Jim planted a kick on Algorian's midsection and sent it stumbling back. Then Algorian sent an acid spray at Jim, who merely dodged it. Another was sent, and this one was avoided by a backflip or two. Just then, Jim noticed the mother and child, hiding out in an alley in between two buildings behind him. Algorian was preparing to launch his acid stream.

'If I move now, they'll die,' he thought. Left with no other option, Jim made the only choice he felt that he could make; he got in between the amphibious kaiju and the parent and child, with his back facing the monster, kneeling. Algorian fired its acid stream, and it struck against Jim's silvery hide. It sizzled on contact, and Jim issued a pained yell. Both mother and child looked up, to see the kneeling red and silver giant, groaning in pain and writhing in agony as the spray continued.

'RUN!' he telepathically yelled at them. The stream stopped, after what seemed like an eternity, and the two anthros made a dash to his left. Jim watched them run, and when he saw them join the crowd a few hundred meters away, he stood back up, his warning light flashing steadily. Algorian charged at its opponent. Jim got into a quick battle stance, and rushed to meet Angorian head on. Then, Jim planted a fist in Algorian's drooping head, making it stumble back. Immediately following a spin-kick that put Angorian on the ground. Jim was on top of the monster again, and started to rain down blows, striking Algorian in the head, midsection, wherever was vulnerable. Just then, Angorian's tail caught Jim in the face and made the Ultra back off. Algorian got back to its feet and growled at the red and silver Ultra. Then, Jim sent a shredding halo at Angorian, who dodged it. It turned back to face Jim, who merely crossed his arms expectantly. Suddenly, the halo came back around, and severed one of Angorian's arms. As blood escaped the stump, the limb fell to the ground as Algorian shrieked in dismay, while holding the stump in its free hand. Then it exuded another spray. Jim knew that the buildings behind him still had people in them, and decided to try something; The Ultra brought both of his arms to his sides, bent at the elbow, fists facing up. Then, his forearms started to glow white, and he thrust his arms outward, where a shimmering blue circle of light was present. The spray hit the circle, but could not penetrate the shield. Then, Jim crossed his wrists together and swung his arms down. Just then, the barrier went towards Algorian, and the barrier wrapped itself around its head. It was still emitting its spray, hoping to penetrate the barrier, and soon filled the space with its own acid. Its head dissolved instantly. The barrier dissipated, letting the fluid fall to the ground, and was eating its way through it along with gobs of partially dissolved flesh. The head was no more than a skull, with a few pieces of flesh hanging off of the bone. It fell to its knees and collapsed, where it dissolved into foam. Jim looked at the remains, until he was sure that all of it was dissolved. Just then, a crowd of people came around him, while giving him a wide berth. Jim looked at them, and seemed to be regarding them. Just then one of the buildings, having sustained much damage from one of the acid sprays, started to tilt and fall. People screamed, and ducked for what cover they could. The Star Fox team looked on in horror, unable to do anything in time. Suddenly, there was a loud crash, and all was silent. The little girl badger, who was with her mother in the crowd, looked up and shouted "Look!" The others looked up, and what they saw amazed them; Ultraman Jim was holding the building's remains over his back while kneeling over the people. Jim looked down at them and nodded. With a loud shout, Jim got up quickly, and the building was sent up off of his back. He then lifted his arms up, and caught the building. Immediately following that, he used his telepathic abilities to scan inside the building, seeing if there was anyone left alive in there. After seeing that it was deserted, he placed it down next to him, away from the people. He looked down at them and nodded. The girl badger smiled at the Ultra. Satisfied, Jim looked up, and with a loud "SHUWATCH!", he was flying into the sunset, having saved the people once more. Star Fox looked at the carnage; ruined buildings were everywhere, and the loss of life were appalling. But, at this time, no one would forget the day, that Ultraman Jim just displayed an act of selfless service. Star Fox flew back up, into space, while the people on the ground only looked on, while the little girl badger, who was still being held by her mother, whispered "Thank you," to thier savior.


	11. Through the Eyes of a Krystal

This is told from Krystal's point of view. I decided to try something new, and thought it came out pretty well. Please, R&R.

Chapter 11

Through the Eyes of a Krystal

I don't know how, or even why. All I know is, I seem to have seen it from somewhere else before. Jim was taking his usual evening shower, and I was waiting in his room. He was planning on lending me one of the discs that he uses on his personal data receiver, or his 'laptop', as he calls it. As I look at it, I can't help but notice that it is a more simpler versions of the ones that we normally use. But that isn't what has my attention, right now. What does have it, actually, is something rather smaller on the scale, and probably more insignificant, unless you've had it since you were a child; his Ultraman doll. I picked up the red and silver figure, feeling the plastic, seeing the paint coming off, exposing the red underneath. I know that I have seen it from somewhere before. I don't know how, but I do. Most would probably pass it off as simply dej'a vu, but I know that it is something more than that. Something, that seems to have been forgotten, is now trying to be remembered. At least, that's how I feel. I probably didn't notice him step out of the shower, or even the bathroom, since he tugged on my tail, again. I gave a yelp, and whirled. He was standing there, grinning broadly, wearing his sweat pants, and naught else. I don't know why, but he seems to find it amusing to tease me like this. I feel my face turn red from slight fury, and shout

"I told you, to not do that!" He just laughs, and puts his shirt on. I honestly don't know what it is that he is thinking, sometimes. That is, if I don't use my telepathic abilities. He goes over to his laptop, and picks up the case, labeled 'Clash of the Titans', with a picture of a man, with a sword, holding up the head of someone, or something. He says that it is based off of a popular myth on his planet. When he told me about 'Terran mythology', I became interested. He told me about Greek, Norse, and even some from, what he called, the 'Middle Ages', and 'Dark Ages'. Those seemed to be his favorites in particular; tales of knights upon charging steeds, rushing off to slay evil monsters, and protecting the helpless. Cerinia had similiar myths. Though, I haven't told him everything about them, since I don't know much about them myself. The destruction of my homeworld has left me, without much knowledge of my own world. Jim was left with a similiar fate, when Earth was met with a destruction, that was eerily similiar to Cerinia's. I have been searching for answers to Cerinia's demise, when I ran into Fox, and joined his team. I had feelings for him, and was about to express them, when Fara was introduced. I still remember the day;

We were landing on Corneria, for the first time for me, and departed Great Fox. I took in all the sights, and sounds, and thought that no place like this one could exist. All the worlds that I had been to on my travels, had rudimentary technology, thier societies being barely able to travel within thier own systems. Once I saw Corneria, however, I knew that I would think differently from now on. When we made our way from the ship, there was a family waiting for us; the Phoenixes. The youngest, Cody, ran up and embraced Fox. At first, I thought that this was his family, until I saw Fara come up to him, and kiss him. When I saw that, I felt a part of me die inside, knowing that, he and I cannot be together. We stayed at the Phoenixes, and I was outside, on the balcony, going over what all had happened. Suddenly, I felt a presence coming, turned, and saw Fox standing behind me. He stood beside me, while he gazed upward at the stars.

"They seem so limitless, the stars. When I was a kit, I wanted to explore every one of them. My father told me to go after my dream, just before he passed away. The Phoenixes encouraged me. And now I protect those very stars, while also exploring them." I turned to Fox, and I could see the slight grin on his face as he remembered his father's words, 'Never give up. Go after your dream, and follow your instincts.' I felt a little comfort, but not much. I felt all alone, again. Fox looked at me, and had a sympathetic face.

"I know that you feel alone, but you shouldn't. There's someone out there for you. You just have to find him. At least, I hope it is a 'him'," We both laughed at the little joke, and returned our gaze star ward. He put an arm around me, and said "Don't give up on love, Krystal. If all else fails, love certainly will not."

I was probably daydreaming, again. Lost in memory, for Jim was waving a hand near my face, saying "Hello, anyone home?"

I turned red again, while saying "Sorry, just reminiscing."

"Right. Well, here's the movie you wanted."

"Thank you." He handed me the case, and I took it. Our hands briefly touched, and we looked at eachother. I could feel it in him, his feelings for me. I was starting to feel for him, and it was showing in him. I wondered, if he was the one for me. But, he would often feel uncomfortable, trying to force down the feelings he has for me. He feels, that we are too different. The difference may only be skin-deep, but he feels that he could not convince others of this fact. And, as much as I'd dislike to admit it, he does have a point. Others would think that a human and a fur together would be...strange, to say the least. I believe Falco said it best, when he said that 'the parts don't even fit'. I assumed he meant that in a sexual way, and was certainly not any of his business. True, I feel for the human, but not in that way. Even I find that to be a little 'over the top', I guess the phrase would be. But even so, I do care for him. As I bid him good night, and exited his room, I couldn't help but wonder, were we really so different from eachother? I entered my room, and placed the disc, called a 'DVD', according to Jim, and proceeded to pull out a short-sleeved shirt, and shorts. I got dressed in the garments, and placed the other clothes in the hamper beside my door, which ROB will pick up, and take to the laundry room to be cleaned. I took the case, and decided to watch its contents after all, rather than save it for later, like I had planned. The 'movie' was about a young human, part man, part god, who has been tasked with saving a city, and a princess. The setting reminds me so much of Cerinia, in its simpleness, and artistry. The man, Perseus, loses the family he has known to Hades, god of the underworld. Perseus then gets captured by the city of Joppa, who have declared war against thier own gods, claiming that they are not needed anymore. It was an interesting concept, one rebelling against one's own creator. Throughout the story, Perseus learns what he is, a demigod, and chooses whether or not to accept it. Along the way, he and his friends battle fearsome monsters, even his mother's husband, who had been possessed by Hades.

I couldn't help, but think of Jim while watching this. He was essentially the same thing, except in his case, he was part Ultra, and part human. He had said that humans and Ultras are of the same race, but, still... He has fought several battles, all for the defense of Corneria. Well, some of them were, at least. I still remember when he transformed, for the first time. Wolf was planning on ravaging me, and I could sense Jim's intense need to protect me. Suddenly, that need must have triggered the transformation, and he was an 'Ultraman'. He easily defeated Wolf, and Leon. The power emanating from him was incredible, and nearly limitless. His next transformation, took place when we were attacked by a completed spyborg, beset by Wolf. I still wonder how he got his paws on one. Jim saved my life, by nearly sacrificing his own. While we all thought he was dead, he transformed and took on the spyborg and won. He was different that time, his pattern not what they were, and his eyes changed. I wonder, did I have something to do with his first transformation?

I watched the movie, reminiscing about the past, and pondering the future. Fox worries, that Jim's power will get the best of him. I tell him that this is not so. That he will not allow that to happen. I know that Fox has dealt with megalomaniacs, and power hungry beings before. I have even dealt with some myself, during and before my time with Star Fox. But, the idea of Jim turning against us, just seems so remote. He doesn't even look the type to want even more power. But, I have tried to imagine, what it would be like, if he became our enemy; Would he bring down destruction on the Lylat System, and destroy the Star Fox team? His own power seems limitless, and appears to be capable of anything. With that kind of strength, I guess being feared would feel...good. With that in mind, would I have to be the one, who will have to end his life? I try to imagine myself, pulling the trigger on Jim, but, the very idea sends shudders down my spine and tail. "I couldn't. I just couldn't..." I say to myself. I couldn't fire on a friend like that, not even with my own life thrown in the balance. The movie ended, with me not really paying attention to much of it.

'Jim, would you really turn against us? Against me?' I pray that that never happens. I turn the monitor off, and the lights, climb into bed, and try to put those fears to rest. I certainly put myself to rest, but not my fears.

I awoke to the tell-tale alarm clock going off. I did my morning routine, cleaning up, showering, etc. Dressed, I decided to return the movie to Jim. When I entered his room, what I saw hardly surprised me; he was passed out in front of his laptop, again. I shook my head in wonder, and placed the case on his desk. I looked over at the screen, and saw what it was he was doing last night; writing, per usual. I smiled to myself. It's his hobby, one that he has only confided in me. He figured that, he'd get torn into by the other members of the team, especially Falco. I read the first few paragraphs, and continued to smile. He may not be much of a poet, but he does have a certain way with words. He stirred, slightly, and I decided to leave.

Making my way to the command head, I saw Fox and Peppy working, per usual. Peppy was setting in the coordinates of the next mission, while Fox was working on the supplies inventory.

"That should be it, Fox. I wonder why General Pepper wants us to go to Macbeth?"

"More reports of suspicious U.F.O. activity. Apparently, these aren't Venomian, but they don't appear to be friendly either."

"What makes you say that?"

"They attacked a patrol cruiser, when it got too close to one. It never stood a chance."

"Then, we may be dealing with an invasion."

"Is it the same as the Keronians?" I asked. Both of them whirled, and faced me. Peppy smiled slightly, while Fox never lost his seriousness.

"I don't know. If it is, then we may be dealing with a serious problem, and not just from them."

"You mean Jim."

"You saw the way he reacted when he recognized those ships. Imagine if that had been in a populated area. He'd be placing innocent lives at risk."

"He was protecting innocent lives! Why can't you grasp the fact, that he is on our side?"

"I trust my instincts first, Krystal."

"Is that instinct that you are feeling Fox, or simply fear?" He whirled to face me. He stared, while I glared at him. He looked shocked, then angry. After forcing down an almost uncontrollable urge to strike me, he turned angrily back towards the console he was working on, grumbling to himself. I felt a hand on my shoulder, and saw Peppy look at me. He had a sympathetic smile, as if saying 'It will be alright. Don't worry.' I returned it.

"I wonder, if he'll recognize these ships as well. Heck, I wonder what all it is he does know." So do I, I think to myself.

When Macbeth was in range of our scanners, the planet was brought up on the main monitor. The team was assembled, and awaiting orders. Just then, General Pepper sent a transmission, via hologram. His image appeared before us, and gave us the briefing;

"The situation is simply this; we have picked up suspicious U.F.O. activity around, and on, Macbeth. When we sent a patrol cruiser out to investigate, the ships attacked and destroyed it without hesitation."

"Looks like they don't like company." Falco commented.

"Were you able to get a good look at the ships, general?" "As a matter of fact, the last transmission from the cruiser, was a photo of one of the attacking craft." General Pepper pressed a switch off-image, and the hologram turned from Pepper, to a strange looking craft; It was primarily saucer shaped, and had what looked like windows along the radius. It was silver, with a dark green star shaped symbol on top. I looked at Jim, who stood next to me, to see if he recognized the ship. He turned to me, and simply shrugged. Fox was also looking at him, and I don't think he bought his ignorance. The image turned back to general Pepper, who continued the briefing;

"Find out what those ships are, and if they prove to be hostile, then take them out."

"I think they're already hostile. Destroying a patrol cruiser like that-"

"Could have been a mistake." We looked over at Jim, who never took his eyes off of the general.

"What do you mean, Jim?"

"I mean, it was probably just a misunderstanding, destroying the cruiser. They, more than likely, didn't know what it was, felt threatened, and acted in self-preservation." "That's a bit of a stretch, don't you think?" Falco said.

"Tell that to the aliens, Falco."

"And while he's doing that, Jim, you could tell the families of the crewmembers who died on that ship, that the person/persons that they loved died of a stupid 'misunderstanding'!" Fox nearly shouted. I glared at him, while Jim never changed his expression.

"Well, in any case, you have your orders." When Pepper signed off, Jim turned to face Fox, smirking slightly.

"You don't trust me, do you?" he said, nonchalantly.

"I'm just wary of you. Also, you seemed to be trying to victimize the enemy."

"Like I said, it was probably a misunderstanding."

"And how would you know that? Do you know them?"

"No. That's why I said that, because I don't know what it is that we are dealing with." "Unlike last time, when you attacked the Keronians without mercy." Jim merely chuckled slightly.

"And that surprises you? Remember, I came from a world, where it is our business to weed out destructive races like that. We dealt with them before, just like I did. And if these aliens also prove to be hostile, I'll deal with them in the same fashion." What he said sent a shiver down my back, and wondered if Fox was as paranoid as I thought he was. Jim looked at all of us, appeared to scoff, then left the control head. We watched him leave, feeling a little afraid of him. I looked after him, and tried to follow him, but Fox held me by the arm.

"Let him go. He's-"

"Let go of me, Fox!" He took a step away from me.

"What you did, was uncalled for. He had a valid point, but you didn't care. You too busy feeling threatened by him, that you didn't bother to really listen to him."

"Well, can you blame Fox, Krystal? He has all that power, and I think we just got a glimpse of his true colors."

"And how do you know that, Falco? Do you have telepathic abilities, same as I do?" This shut him up, as I stared holes in him, and Fox. I left the command head, and followed after Jim. I caught up to him, as he was walking down the hallway, hands in his pockets, head down. I turned him to look at me. He had a depressed look on , and could hardly blame him.

"Are you okay?" I asked, already knowing the answer.

He shook his head, sadly, saying "What must I do, to gain thier trust, to make them see that I am on thier side." He slammed a fist against a wall, and cursed. I put an arm around his shoulders, and tried to console him. He placed his head on my shoulder, and I held him, feeling his frustration, and hopelessness. I was the only one he felt that he could trust at this point. He pulled away to look at me, and smiled slightly, saying "Thanks, for being here for me."

"I told you, when all others lose faith, I won't." I smiled at him, and he tried to return it.

In the hangar, we prepped our arwings for launch. I was busy on my own, while Jim was already inside his. He looked over at me, and grinned. When we were in space, orbiting Macbeth, we flew into the atmosphere. The planet, from what I was told, was a rich mining world, wealthy in minerals and precious ores. It was the cornerstone of the Lylat industrial economy, not to mention where they mine the precious stones, especially sapphires. The plan, was the same as the one on Zoness; a ground team will scout out the area, while three fliers provide cover. It was decided, that myself and Jim would be heading down. We landed our arwings, and headed for the settlement. The mining town called, ironically, 'Prosperity' was little more than a ghost town, its mines were already starting to run out. There were a few souls left, but not much. As Jim and I made our way through, I couldn't help but notice the tension in the air. Almost a tangible thing, it was thick, as if they were expecting something. There was hardly anyone out, and those that were, made especially sure to steer clear of us. Jim and I looked at eachother, puzzled. We entered what looked like to be a bar, and decided to snoop around. (Although, why we enter here, escapes me, since I would've preferred someplace more...civilized.) There were furs, as well as other races that I don't recognize, all conversing and drinking with eachother. Jim felt a little bit more comfortable, since it wasn't only furs that resided here. I reached out with my telepathic abilities, hoping to find some answers.

'Save your energy. Most of these guys look drunk off thier asses.' Jim communicated to me. He has a point, since most of the thoughts were either slurred, or jumbled and fragmented. Sighing in frustration, I turned to Jim.

"Then why are we here, then?"

"To find some answers." he answered, in a 'why else are we here?' tone. I shook my head, wondering if he actually thought this through. We made our way through the crowd, and sat at the bar. Jim ordered two drinks, handed me mine, and conversed with the bartender. I sipped it, and tried not to wince at the bitter flavor. I caught part of the conversation between Jim and the bartender;

"About time you guys showed up. I sent the report in over a week ago, and I'm feeling very damned nervous as it is." A military informant. The Cornerian Army had numerous such agents on the planets in the system, in different places on each one. It was considered the first line of defense against an outside aggressive force. I was hoping to hear more, when disaster struck; one of the drunken sods decided to take a fancy to me. The miner, a burly looking middle-aged bear, sat next to me, with drink in hand, on breath, and in his mind. I tried not to notice, but he made it difficult.

"Hey, lady. Lonely?" He was intoxicated, deeply. I sipped my own drink, not looking at him.

"You know, 'buurrp.', scuse me, a guy could take offense at not being noticed. Especially, when he's trying to be civil." I turned to him, a fake smile on my face.

"Sorry, but, you're not my type." I turned away from him.

"You know, that's what most women say, about men that they just met."

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Finally, Jim took notice of the situation. For some reason, though, he seemed to not worry.

"Mind yerown business, pardner."

"Okay, just saying."

"Sage advice." I never looked at him. However, that never stopped him.

"Hhhmmmm. Just how I like my women. Spicy." He slightly touched my tail. That, was, _it_! I slammed my elbow into his paunchy gut, doubling him over, and landed a solid spin-kick on his bearded face. He fell back, landed, and breaking, on a table and laid still. I eyed him, waiting for him to make a move. He was out cold.

"Just how I like my men. Silent." I say, in a silent rage. Jim was still on the stool, laughing behind his hand. I shot him a glare, but he never lost his smile. I never lost my glare, as I asked, as calmly as I could

"Can we please, get the hell out of here?"

"You have anything else for us?" Jim asked the barkeep. He simply shook his head, his eyes on the downed patron.

"Alrighty, let's go." he said, in a carefree way. We left the bar, and I was still mad. Mostly at Jim, who felt like he didn't need to intervene. True, I have learned to fight off drunkards and such, but still.

'You need me to handle all your problems, now?' he telepathically communicated.

"That's not why, at all. You could have at least done more to assess the situation than-"

"Had I thought you incapable to handle yourself, I wouldn't have let you come along. However, if you want me to protect you from everything, then I will remember that. If, you want."

"...no."

"Good. the informant told me something rather...interesting. Turns out, about a month ago, a group of miners showed up to 'replace the old crew'. Either they were new to this, or very stupid, since everyone knows that Prosperity is almost played out. Also, he said that they were all wearing the same type of metal badge. That part concerns me."

"Why is that?" I kept walking, but Jim stopped, and looked at the ground.

"What's wrong?"

"I lied."

"What?"

"On Great Fox, when General Pepper showed us that image of the spacecraft, I lied about not seeing it before."

"What do you mean?"

"Is there, someplace private that we could go to?"

We checked ourselves into a hotel, a rather run down sort of place, but that hardly mattered, as in the room, Jim talked; "I recognized the ship, instantly. I believe that we are dealing with a race, as they are known to mine, as the Shaplay. I was hoping that I could be proven wrong, but, the informant confirmed it."

"Why did you lie?"

"Because I didn't want Fox and the others to think, that I would go overboard when I did recognize them. He's already suspicious of me, and is just dying for a chance to nail me to the damned WALL!" He slammed a fist against the already cracked mirror, shattering it. He was sobbing gently. I placed an arm around him, and smiled gently, as he looked at me, through tear stained eyes. "Not everyone suspects you." He rested his head against my shoulder, and I held him gently. "Tell me more, about the Shaplay. Why would they be here?" He pulled away, and nodded.

"They're more than likely looking for the ore that gives them thier power."

"What power?"

"Shaplay have the ability to play mind games, and tricks, make people see what really isn't there. Illusions, hallucinations, etc. The ore is normally found on thier own world, but it's been mined clean. Now, they're aiming for the Lylat system. Macbeth is famous for its rich mineral deposits. They've probably been searching, from town to town, mine to mine, looking for the ore."

"What does it look like?"

"Like a pink colored ruby. You'll know, when you see it."

We were headed for the supposedly abandoned mine, when Jim stopped in front of a gift shop. His gaze was fixed on something, then he went in. I followed him in, and saw what it was that held his attention; he was holding a sample of ore, only, it looked like a pink quartz. he made his way to the clerk, asking if he knew where it was that this was found. The clerk, an elderly canine, said that the mine is full of them. They have no commercial value, so most are simply tossed aside. Jim paid the clerk, and went outside, with me following him. He was examining the rock, and I asked

"Is that it?"

"Yep. Pure Otonium."

"'Otonium'?"

"The mineral. The clerk said that the mine is full of it. That means, that the Shaplay have found the freakin' mother lode." He looked around, as if fearful of being watched. "We need to hurry, and find them before-" My communicator went off, before he could finish.

"This is Krystal."

"Krystal, Fox. How's everything going down there?" I turned to Jim, who shook his head.

'Not yet. Not until they reveal themselves.' he communicated.

"Still searching. We're going to check out the mine, then move on to the next town." "

Copy. Over and out." I turned to Jim, who smiled slightly, and nodded his head. I returned it. The mine wasn't hard to find. It was located a few hundred meters out of town.

It looked like the stereotypical mine entrance; a hole in the side of the hill, with a magnetic railing coming out, for the hover cars to carry out the rubble and ore for waiting processing machines. The machines looked ancient, as if they had not been used in years, and that was more than likely the case. The conveyor belts had years of dust on them, and the machines that they fed were covered in rust, as the cube shaped constructs sat there, dead. Then, we found them; a pile of the same type of quartz that was sold in the gift shop. Jim knelt down, and picked one up. I looked over his shoulder, and saw the stone. He looked up at me, and nodded. "These were recently mined. The Shaplay still have to be here."

"They're in the mine, still. Do we go in, or-" we heard movement, and we whirled at the sound, both of us had our weapons drawn. Then, a little girl, no more than eight to nine years of age, walked out from behind one of the machines. She was a golden retriever, and looked rather shocked at us. I smiled, and replaced my weapon as I walked over to her. Jim also placed his back. As I walked over to her, she tried to move away.

"Don't be afraid. I'm a friend."

"How do I know? How do I know that you won't give me to the monster, that's inside of the mine?"

"A monster?" Jim asked, curiously.

"Mm-hm. Lately, I've been hearing strange sounds from the mine. I told my father about it, and he went into the mine. He's been gone for two days, now. And, there's weird people down there. They say that they're miners, but they're not." she said, in a whispered tone. Just then, we heard it; It sounded like a growl of some type from the mine. All three of us looked inside it, while the girl hid behind me. Jim and I looked at eachother, while the girl shook visibly.

"Don't be afraid, we'll find your father." I tell the girl. She looked up at me, and nodded quickly. I knelt down again, and asked

"What is your name?"

"It's Tasha."

"Nice to meet you. I'm Krystal, and this is Jim. Do us a favor, and wait here for us. We will handle things here." She stood beside one of the machines, as both Jim and I entered the mine. When we were several meters in I asked "What do you think that sound was?"

"Definitely wasn't the wind."

"Do you know what it was?"

"I think so. It's probably what they're using to mine for the Otonium." "They use a monster, to mine for the mineral?" "And, as a watch-dog." When we were at least halfway into the mine(At least, that's how it felt to me), we heard voices, and saw light up ahead. We automatically drew our weapons, and moved carefully closer. We saw the 'miners'; They looked like the typical miners that would usually dig around here, wearing protective gear, and using laser drills to cut out the rock. Except, they were slightly different in one area, they all wore the same metal badge on the left breast. They spoke in an alien language, that I could not understand. But once I used my telepathic abilities, I picked up the language fairly easily.

"These foolish animals have no idea of the gold-mine that they are sitting on. The Otonium supply here is practically endless."

"We will begin the invasion process, as soon as we have enough. Then, we will take over this pathetic little system. Surprising that no one has done it yet, considering the military weakness of the inhabitants." Jim and I looked at one another, and nodded.

"Hold it, Shaplay!" Jim rushed from around the corner that we were hiding behind, with me following him. Startled, All six of the miners turned to face us, and dropped thier gear. However, thier shock was replaced by grins, as they looked at us. Puzzled we turned around, and saw a large form swing at both of us. That was the last thing I saw, before I entered a darkness that was blacker than any mine.

When I came to, I saw Jim lying next to me. I shook him awake. He groaned, held his head, and sat up.

"Ohhhh, what hit us? Where are we?" he asked groggily. We heard laughter behind us, and turned to see one of the miners standing behind us, arms folded, smiling broadly. "So, I see that your primitive military has finally sniffed us out, eh? No matter. Dead men, or women, tell no tales. Especially, without these." he smirked as he held up our communicators. He dropped them on the ground, and crushed them under his boot, sending sparks and ozone into the air. He laughed heartily at this, and turned away. "Great, now what?"

"Do you still have your brace?"

"You know I do." Jim placed the brace over his heart, but there was no flash. He tried again, still nothing. We walked forward, and bumped into something. We felt around, and felt the forcefield. The gaurd laughed again.

"Your Spacium Brace will not work here, Ultra." Jim looked at the Shaplay in disguise, and snarled.

"That's right, we know what you are, and prepared countermeasures against your transformation. Wouldn't want you to make problems for us." He turned away, and walked away from us, and sat down at a desk, propped his feet up, and relaxed. In moments, I could feel that he was asleep. Jim slumped to the ground, saying "So, now what?" Just then, Tasha came out from behind a corner. She saw us, and I motioned for her to come closer. She crept her way to us, and felt the forcefield.

"Tasha, can you find a way to turn this barrier off?"

"I don't know, I don't see any control panel."

"It's the gaurd. Get the badge off of him, and it should lose its power." Jim said. The retriever looked over at the gaurd, and nodded. She inched her way, and stopped next to the gaurd. He stirred, but did not awaken. She reached out, and, with a trembling paw, gently lifted the badge off of the gaurd. We all breathed a sigh of relief. That is, until the gaurd woke up. He grabbed Tasha by the arm, who let out a yelp of fright.

"What are you doing?" the gaurd shouted angrily.

"Tasha, THROW IT!" Jim yelled. Tasha did, right at the force field. The gaurd let out a loud "NOOO!", just as the badge exploded into sparks against the barrier, disabling it. Then, a horrible transformation took place; The gaurd was enveloped in smoke, and when it cleared, the being that stood before us was clad in a golden tunic, had a large, cone-shaped head, large compound eyes like an insect, and type of face plate with pointy ears on each side of its head. It cackled in a distorted voice.

"You think that just because you are free, you have won? We have finally obtained enough Otonium, and fed it all to our Giradorus, who now awaits for my order to destroy this pathetic little town. You are doomed, ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Tasha put her canines to good use, as she sank them into the hand of her captor. It let out a pained yell, and released the retriever. Tasha ran to us, and hid behind us. They took our weapons, but were far from helpless, as Jim rushed the Shaplay, and landed a cross into its face, knocking it back. Just as Jim was about to pounce on it, it raised his hands, as if to shield itself, and Jim's hands burst to flames. Jim was surprised, and he fell back, trying to put the flames out. The Shaplay laughed, and held out its hands, as if manipulating the flames. That's when I remembered, that Jim told me that the Shaplay were hypnotists, able to make one see things that are not there. I picked up a good-sized rock, and threw it at the alien. It struck soundly against its large head, drawing blood, and making it wail in pain. Jim recovered, and started to pound his fists against its face, until it was either unconscious, or dead. As he looked down at its prone form, the whole cavern shook, and rubble started to fall. Then, the growling could be heard. Jim turned to me, and said "Let's get the hell outta here!"

"Wait, my dad's still here! We can't just leave him here!" Jim knelt down to Tasha's eye level, and said

"Don't worry, I'll find 'im for ya." He winked, and tussled her head. He turned to me, and nodded. As Jim went further into the cavern, Tasha and I ran outside of the mine. When we looked back, what we saw erupt out of the hill, made us gasp in shock; it was huge, a gigantic, reptile-like creature with two giant limbs for legs, a red spine going down its back. It had four, bright red tusks, on either sides of its saurian-like head. It lumbered out of the hill, and made its way to the town.

"What'll we do, now?" Tasha asked. Just then, I felt a familiar sensation, and smiled,

"Don't worry, everything is well in hand." Just as I said that, a familiar red and silver shape flew out of the remains of the hill, and landed just outside of the town. Just then, Ultraman Jim was standing in front of the Giradorus, in a classic battle pose, while holding something in his hand. He looked at his hand, and set it down in the settlement. He turned his attention back on the monster, who roared at the Ultra. With a shout, Jim leapt up, and landed on top of the monster, and started to rain down blows upon it. Punch after chop after punch, Jim relentlessly pounded the beast, while it tried vainly to dislodge him off of it. Just then, the beast did something rather unexpected; its tusks started to glow, and clouds darkened the sky. Just then, a blizzard just appeared out of nowhere. However, it was focused primarily around the two combating figures. The winds and snow forced Jim off of it, and sent him tumbling to the ground. Jim got back up, but was battered by the storm. Just then, Giradorus lowered its head, and charged at Jim, like a battering ram. It slammed into Jim, sending him flying to the ground with a shout. Jim was up again, and grappled the tusks, attempting to pull them off of its head. Just then, the beast swung its head, and flung Jim away. It was up on Jim in an instant. He was trying to fight the monster off, but the storm made it difficult. I sent my hand to my chest, clutching the necklace that Jim had given me. Just then, several emerald blasts assaulted the monster, and three familiar looking arwings flew around. "The Star Fox team!" Tasha shouted. I looked at her, and nodded. I opened up my rapport with Fox.

'Fox, can you hear me?'

'Loud and clear Krystal. Can you tell me what to aim for on this thing?'

'The tusks, aim for the red flashing tusks.'

'Got it.' The three arwings, after receiving thier orders from Fox, made another pass at the beast, and let loose charged shots and nova bombs at its head. After two of the tusks were destroyed, Giradorus raised its head, and issued a pained wail. Then, Jim kicked the beast off of him, sending it tumbling to the ground. Then, Jim leapt upon it again, and started to pound it mercilessly. Then, he dragged it to its feet, and landed two solid blows to its face, sending it back down again. After dragging it to its feet again, he hoisted it up, over his head with a loud grunt. After a loud "HYAAAHHH!" he threw Giradorus to the ground. The blizzard was almost done, and the beast stumbled to its feet. Jim placed both of his hands on the edge of his warning light, then, he outstretched the left arm, and had the right hand cocked behind his head. After blue/white energy swirled around it, the energy became a saw blade of power. Jim threw it at the monster. The saw blade decapitated the monster's head cleanly, and rubies fell out of the stump that was its neck. Then, the body fell to the ground, twitched, and laid still. The clouds dissipated, and the sun shone through. Jim placed his fists upon his waist, and looked down at me and Tasha, and nodded. Tasha was laughing in joy, and said "Thank you." He looked up, and with a shout, flew up into the sky.

We made our way back into the town, and saw something that brought smiles to both of our faces; Jim was helping an older retriever, who looked at us, and shouted "Tasha!" the girl ran forward, and embraced her father. Jim looked to me, and smiled broadly.

"Good thing that he showed up. Who was he, anyway?" Tasha asked, turning to Jim.

"A friend of ours." he answered, matter-of-factly. After saying our farewells, we walked over to our own arwings, and flew back to Great Fox.

I was in my room, filling out my diary, when the chime sounded. Jim was standing in the doorway, holding the ruby that he had bought from the gift shop.

"You left this back on Macbeth. I thought that, you might want it back." He had it fashioned into an amulet, and held it in his hand. I took it, smiling slightly.

"Thank you. Do you want to come in?"

"I'd...like that." He entered, and we talked for awhile, about myths, and about eachother, ending in a kiss.


	12. Memories for the Future

No real kaiju action here, but plenty of bonding and good stuff.

Chapter 12

Memories for the future

Baltan Seijin was attacking the airport. The arthropod-like aliens were descending upon the hapless people, who looked up, and ran in terror, looking for shelter of any kind. Those inside the planes found scant protection, as the Baltan's claw blasts easily tore through the planes' hulls, killing everyone inside of them. The man-sized Baltan were blasting at everything that moved and didn't move. Those inside the airport could only look on in horror as the aliens laid waste to the area. Once the field was littered with dead bodies and rubble, all of the Baltans circled around the airport, while the people inside waited for the inevitable, or prayed for a miracle. They got it. A line of Baltan Seijin were vaporized by a blue/white beam, and then another line fell, the burning and charred corpses falling to the ground. Then, descending from the sun like an avenging angel, was Ultraman. The people's hopes and spirits were instantly uplifted to see the fourty meter tall red and silver soldier from M78. Ultraman landed between the Baltan Seijin, and the airport, fists planted on his waist, the last line of defense for these people. The mini-Baltans fired thier claw blasts, but the hits were merely deflected off of the red and silver warrior's muscular build. Ultraman pounded a fist against his chest, a sign of power, and got into a battle stance. Then, the Baltans decided to change tactics; they flew into thier saucer-shaped space ship. Immediately after, the ship glowed, then descended to the ground, changing shape. When the transformation was complete, what stood before the red and silver warrior was no longer a ship. Using thier technology, the Baltans merged with thier ship and themselves, to create one giant Baltan, standing as tall as Ultraman. Baltan issued a low, haunting laugh, challenging the red and silver warrior. Ultraman got back into his combat stance, and made a 'come hither' gesture with his hand. Baltan answered. It charged at Ultraman, swinging its claws. Ultraman easily blocked the blows, and landed a one-two punch into its face, making it stumble back. Then, Ultraman executed a drop-kick, that made contact with its insect-like face, making it fall back with a grunt. When Ultraman landed, he faced the insect-humanoid alien in his combat stance. Baltan rose to its feet, swinging its lobster-like claws in anger. Then, it just vanished. Ultraman looked around, puzzled. He turned this way and that, hoping to find his adversary. Then, he felt something strike him from behind, and he stumbled forward. Just then, something unseen smacked him in the face, sending him crashing to the ground. Baltan's laugh could be heard, taunting the soldier of light. Ultraman turned around again, but could not see his opponent. 'Time to end this one-sided fight,' he thinks to himself. His eyes flashed, an indication that his Ultra-vision was used. Using a combination of X-ray, infra-red, even night-vision, Ultraman was able to see anything, visible or not. He turned around, his eyes flashing. Then, he saw the humanoid-insect's outline. He nodded in satisfaction, ran to where the outline was, and grabbed hold of the alien. To the people, it looked like he was grappling empty air. Then, he hoisted something unseen over his head, and with a shout, threw it. Baltan made itself visible, just as it came crashing down onto a pile of burning airplane. It quickly got back to its feet, to be met with Ultraman's fists being planted into its face. Over and over, Ultraman struck at the alien arthropod, making it stumble back. Baltan tried to defend itself, but Ultraman simply knocked its claws back, and resumed to pound its face again, hitting it in the round compound eyes, antennae, and proboscis. Ultraman leapt back, and waited for the alien to make its next move. Baltan opened its claws up, and fired the at Ultraman. Ultraman easily dodged the claw blasts, but soon found himself in between the airport and the alien. He glanced behind him, and returned his attention to Baltan. 'If I move now, they'll die,' he thinks to himself. Baltan readies his claw, as its interior started to glow. 'One chance,' just as Baltan fired the blast, Ultraman made a rectangle shaped gesture with his arms, which ended with him in a kneeling position. A wall of shimmering light appeared, and repelled the blasts back to thier source. Baltan was struck by its own attack, knocking it to the ground. The people cheered, knowing that the evil invader has no chance against the hero. Ultraman got back up to his feet, and walked over to the Baltan. Baltan stumbled back to its feet, looking woozy. Ultraman decided to end its misery; he placed his arms in a plus shape, with his left arm, vertical, in front of the right arm, horizontal. Then, the blue/white Spacium Kousen was fired from the edge of the right hand, and struck against the face of the invader. As soon as the beam died, Baltan Seijin exploded into a million flaming bits. Ultraman stood in front of the airport, his fists on his waist, and nodded at the people, who let out a thunderous cheer. Just then, an epic battle theme was heard over the noise, and Ultraman tilted his head in puzzlement, then placed a hand to his face, covering his eyes, as if embarrassed; it was the battle theme to the Ultraman TV. series. 'Why, why does she do this to me?' he wonders in dismay. "Simulation end." a female computerized voice sounds out. The airport, wreckage, even the scene shifted to a plain white room, where Ultraman stood. He made a gesture, and reverted back to his human form, that of Jim Aaron Howards, human member of the Star Fox team.

He stormed out of the simulation room, and glared at the operator at the console, who wore an innocent smile.

"What did I say, hm? What did I say about the music?"

"To not have it on." Krystal said, in a smiling matter-of-factly tone, her grin spreading over her vulpine features.

"But you already killed that thing, and it makes you more heroic."

"No, it makes me more distracted." he replied, in a 'I'm talking to a four year-old' tone.

"Spoil-sport. You never have fun anymore." she said, in a fake pout, while setting the controls. Jim rolled his eyes, and walked to the entrance/exit of the simulation chamber. Krystal followed after him. He started the simulation program two days ago, right after his fight with Shaplay, and its Giradorus pet. He decided that, if he was going to fight monsters and aliens, he might as well train himself to fight them. Fox okayed the idea, since more were bound to pop up eventually, and he needed everyone in combat readiness. Still wary of Jim, he assigned Krystal to spot for him whenever he trains, since he trusts her the most. However, early on, Jim found her to be a 'slight' pain; in that she often played the battle theme during the mock-battle. He still remembers the first fight;

He was up against Bemular, a radioactive, fire spitting dinosaur-like monster. He had it beaten down, and was about to destroy it with the Spacium Kousen, when the battle theme literally blared in his ear-drums, throwing off his aim, and the beam missed the prone monster, entirely, and hit the Science Patrol VTOL, destroying it. The simulation ended in a failure. He stomped out, furiously, and still in Ultra form, and glowered at the blue vixen, who had her hands behind her back, wearing a sweetly innocent smile. He half expected to see a halo to appear above her head.

"You mind telling me what that was, exactly?" he growled in a distorted voice.

"Sorry. My hand slipped."

"Don't...let it happen again." He reverted back to his human form, and exited the simulation room in a rage, while Krystal smiled to herself.

He was still mad after the Baltan Seijin run, and Krystal picked this up. She tried to smooth out his ruffled fur;

"It wouldn't be so bad for you to relax every now and then, would it?"

"Maybe I should relax. Maybe I should lighten up, even in the face of the enemy. After all, death is a regular occurrence. So what if a few people die? Is that it?" She ran in front of him, feeling mad herself.

"That's not fair! You know that's not what I meant! I only meant that-"

"What? only meant what? I need these simulations to be as authentic, as possible. If not, then what's the point. I didn't even now I had X-ray vision, until just moments ago. And that was because that, if I didn't do something, and soon, myself or others could get hurt, or worse. That's why I can't relax, or lower my gaurd. Because, if I do in a real fight, people can and will die!" Krystal had a hurt look on her face, and turned her face away from him.

"You know what? Fine. Do the simulations yourself. If you feel that way, then maybe you don't need me around."

"You're right, maybe I don't." He walked past her, and headed for his room, while Krystal felt tears going down her face.

Fox was monitoring the conversation in the control head. Fox was worried that Jim might let his power get to his head, and what he saw only confirmed his fears. 'If something isn't done, someone really _will_ get hurt or worse.' Peppy was watching this as well, and stood beside Fox, who sat in the command chair, his head resting on his closed hands.

"What are you thinking, Fox?"

"That we should probably keep a closer eye on Jim. This could be the first sign."

"Hmmmm."

In her room, Krystal was quietly crying to herself. 'Why? Why is he so serious? I know that he needs the simulations to be as close to the real thing as possible, but why can he not relax?' Then, she felt it; sadness. Not from herself, but from somewhere close by. She walked down the hallway, and ended up at Jim's room. She decided against entering the room, but felt the emotion emanating from there. She opened the door, slightly, and saw the human standing by the viewport, holding the picture of himself and his brother. He had tears running down his face. Krystal picked up his mental impulses;

'I promise, what happened to Earth will _not_ happen to anyone else. As long as I live, I will not allow it. I need to get stronger, somehow. I _must_ get stronger. Strong enough, to protect everyone.' She knocked on the ajar door. He whirled, dropping the photo.

"I felt what it was that you were thinking. Jim, if you try this on your own, then you will get hurt yourself."

"So, what do you want me to do?" he nearly shouted. "I can't let what happen to Earth, happen ever again!" The tears were coming more freely, as he hung his head.

"I can't. I now have a power to prevent that from happening. I can't allow-" he was cut off, as Krystal embraced him. She held him for a couple of minutes, and broke away to look at him, eye to eye.

"If we stay together, you won't have to allow it to happen." Jim looked away, at the dropped picture. Krystal followed his gaze, and picked it up. She handed it to him, saying "You never told me much about him. I would like to know more about him, if you would like to."

"I'll do you one better." he said, feeling his spirits uplifted a bit. Krystal, slightly puzzled, followed Jim to the edge of his bed, and sat next to him. He placed his fingertips at the edge of her head, and closed his eyes. She smiled as she realized what it was he was doing;

'He's using the memory-sharing technique I showed him.' He was going to show her, what his brother had meant to him. She closed her eyes as well, and felt his memories enter her mind. Memories of an older boy, by only a few years, as they spent the first years that he recalled in Japan. Six years of happiness were spent there, then the family moved, from pace to place, continent to continent, thier father being in the military himself. The years went by, and the two were close. Then, the time came when both entered the military themselves, as U.S. Army soldiers. The time spent in basic training was long and difficult. Sometimes, it took only themselves to pull eachother through. But, they passed, and became soldiers of thier nation. Thier family was exceedingly proud of them, especially thier father. Krystal smiled at that, the feeling of accomplishment washing over her. They were deployed in the desert country of Iraq in the year of 2010, and then-. That was it. the memory flow had stopped. Krystal opened her eyes, and saw Jim with a look of sorrow on his features. "What happened?"

"That's...where he died."

"Your brother died in..."

"...yes." he finished for her. Tears were coming down his face, as he recounted the memory.

It was during a patrol out in some long forgotten town. There were repots of insurgents acting up in the area. The shooting started, and when both of them took up defensive positions around the humvee, the firing intensified. He knew that both of them fired back. He saw movement in a window on one of the buildings, and fired a burst. He knew he hit something, and let out a grunt of satisfaction. When the shooting died, he looked around for his brother. What he saw, made his blood run cold. His brother was holding his right under arm, already covered in blood. Somehow, a lucky bastard got a shot through the IBA, and got one of the few unprotected spots. His brother looked at him, and smiled openly. Then, he fell forward. Everything else was an emotional jumble, he called for a medic, rushed him to the nearest aid station, and was by his side, when his brother gave him the graduation ring that he got. Jim never got one, since he felt it was unimportant, but, he kept his brother's ring as a keepsake.

Krystal picked up his memory, and looked down at the ring that he gave her.

"This was your brother's ring, wasn't it?" He sniffled, wiped his nose, and nodded.

"Why...would you give me something so precious?"

"Because, as kids, we often dreamed about meeting alien races like yours. And, along you came. I thought it fitting, to give you his ring since he couldn't be here, himself." His voice was breaking as he said this. She felt tears well up inside herself, and held the ring close to her heart.

'That's why. He feels the need to get stronger, so as to not lose anyone else.' Krystal held him once more, and Jim quietly sobbed into her shoulder, while she rocked him, back and forth, resting her head against his. She felt that, he did need her after all. She smiled warmly at that fact, and continued to hold him.

The team made thier way to Corneria, to get some supplies. When they made planet fall, Fox decided to head for Fara's place by arwing. Peppy and Slippy checked themselves into a hotel, and Falco disappeared, per usual, leaving just Jim and Krystal. They only had a few days, since it was only to replenish the arwing's fuel stores. Krystal decided to take Jim out for a little stroll. The Cornerians no longer stared at the human as much anymore. True, he got a few looks, but with non-furs coming to Corneria on a regular basis, he sort of got lost in the crowd, which suited Jim just fine.

"Were are we off to, the shopping mall again?"

"Maybe, if you don't behave yourself." she playfully threatened, making Jim wince.

"Actually, I was planning on taking us to a v.r. room, but, if you prefer the shopping center..."

"Actually the v.r. sounds good."

"Are you sure? I could use a few more dresses." She smiled at his mock-tormented face.

The v.r. room was located in a small building, just beside the shopping center. Inside, was a room, with several doors. Krystal walked up to one, and swiped her I.D. card in front of the console. A computerized voice sounded "Welcome, Krystal Blue."

"'Krystal Blue'? Is that, like, a noobie user name, or something?" Jim laughed. Krystal shot him a glare, but he kept his smile. The door opened, and both of them stepped inside. The room was, expectantly, plain white. The pair walked in and the same computerized voice sounded; "Place left off of chapter six, of personal file. Continue?"

"Yes, please." Krystal answered.

"Customization?"

"Yes, please." she answered again. Then, a panel opened, and a console appeared. Krystal walked towards it, and tapped it a few times, and motioned for Jim to come near.

"This has direct access to your personal data. You can select anything that you want from there, and use it in the simulation."

"One question; what exactly is this simulation about?" she giggled, and said,

"You'll see." With that, Jim walked over to the console, and started to tap away. He was about to select something Ultraman-related, when he decided against it.

'Then, what?' Suddenly. it hit him, like a freight train.

'Never been that before. I'll give it a shot.' He selected the necessary information, and tapped the console. Finished, he exited out of his personal info, and closed the panel.

"What did you select?"

Jim chuckled, saying "You'll see."

"Simulation, begin." the voice sounded. All at once, the ground erupted with flora of all types, turning into either small ferns, or titanic trees. The background also became different, with the walls and cieling disappearing into jungle, and everlasting sky. Jim looked around, and thought 'Is this...Sauria?'

"It is," Krystal replied, smiling slightly. Jim looked at her, and smiled in amusement himself.

"What's so funny?" she asked puzzled. She was dressed in the same outfit that she was wearing, when Fox rescued her from General Scales on Sauria; white loincloth, bra, small shoulder guards, and arm braces, with sandals. Her white tattoos were showing on her blue fur, and was carrying a medium sized back-pack. The more he looked at her, the more he smiled, until he laughed out loud.

"What, is so funny?" she asked, in an annoyed tone.

"You look like freakin' Xena! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" He laughed heartily at this, until she pulled out her staff, and extended it, with one end mere inches from his head. His face froze in mid-laugh, and shut his mouth, but he never lost his smile. She replaced the staff, back to her waist. She looked at Jim, with her head at tilted to one side. "What are you supposed to be?" she asked, curiously. He wore a brown cloak, covering a light tan tunic, brown belt, and pants, with dark brown boots. His belt held several pouches, and a six-inch long cylindrical object that Krystal could not identify.

"Never seen a Jedi before, have you?"

"'Jedi'?"

Jim only smiled, and walked down a path cutting through the foliage.

The pair made it to, what he thought, was Thorntail Hollow. It looked exactly like it did in 'Adventures'; it was a clearing in the jungle, where the 'Thorntail' stegosaurs grazed amid a temple, and the Warp Stone was on top of a hill overlooking everything. A small stream cut its way through the hollow, where several of the inhabitants came to drink.

'Just like in the game. But, to actually walk inside of it...' Krystal picked it up, and felt the same hollow feeling that she had not felt in weeks, since Jim had mentioned the 'Star Fox' games. Jim picked this up from Krystal.

"Sorry. It's just..." "

It's alright. Though, I still wonder how your kind knows us through a game console."

"Ask me again, sometime. I've been entertaining a theory, lately." he said, grinning. She returned it, saying

"I'll be sure to."

"Anyway, what do we need to do?"

"We need to head for the Warp Stone, and reach the Krazoa Palace."

"To find the spirits, correct?"

"Exactly, and to return the spell stones."

"I see. So, all of this is what Fox has done on Sauria, but you wanted to do this yourself, didn't you?"

"In case you never noticed, I really hate being the 'damsel in distress'."

"I'll bet." The pair made thier way up the hill, to where the Warp Stone resided. After reaching the top, they saw the sentient golem asleep, in the center of the hill.

"Warp Stone, we wish to travel to the Krazoa Palace!" Krystal shouted at the golem. The Warp Stone snorted, and started, whirling to face the pair. Jim had his arms crossed, while Krystal only stood there, waiting for a reply.

"Aye, that ye would, wouldn't ya lass. Do ya have that which I desire, though?" it asked, in the thick Scottish accent, that Jim always found amusing. Krystal reached around her back, and pulled her bag off of her. She set it down, and started to rummage through it. She pulled out what looked like a ruby, inlaid with gold, and offered it to the Warp Stone. The construct took it, and engulfed it. He then lowered both of his hands together, and both Jim and Krystal got on. The Warp Stone raised the pair to it, and said

"Are ye sure your dressed warmly enough, lass? Tis' mighty cold were yer headin'."

"We'll be fine, thank you."

"I'll bet." Just then, there was a flash of light, and Jim had to shield his eyes from the intense glare.

After it had subsided, Jim found himself standing in front of a large temple-like structure. He looked beside him, and saw Krystal looking up at the Palace.

"I'm curious, how many spell stones do you have, now?"

"Just two, unfortunately. I still need to head for Dragon Rock, and then the Walled City. I'm also curious, what all can a 'Jedi', do?" They walked to the palace, as Jim explained what a Jedi was; a Jedi was a person who has access to the life energy of all living things. This energy was simply called the 'Force'. With it, a Jedi is capable of doing many, incredible things. Things that would be considered impossible by ordinary standards. the Jedi were formed, to protect those who could not protect themselves, and go wherever that they are needed.

"Sounds like the knights that you adore so much." Krystal said, smiling slightly.

"They are." They made thier way through the interior of the palace, avoiding the various traps and blockades. The one that Jim found challenging, would be the fire-spouting traps along the way. More than once, did his robe get a good singe from the flames. Even though they were all advanced 3D projections, they certainly felt like the real thing. Then, they came entered what looked like a bare chamber, with another door at the end.

'Too easy. What's the catch?'

'Let's stroll in, and find out.' Krystal telepathically communicated to Jim. Both of them walked in, looking around for anything out of the ordinary.

'Wait, where are we?'

'We should be near the chamber, where the spell stones are usually kept.' That's when it hit him; a sensation in his head, not unlike the 'warning signal' he gets from time to time. Just then, several lightning bolts lanced around the ground in front of them. Krystal jumped back in surprise, grabbing Jim. There was a sound of slight laughter from a deep, arrogant-sounding voice. Then, _he_ stepped out from the shadows.

"Ah, master Kenobi. So good to see you again, my old friend."

'Kenobi?' Krystal thought that he might be referring to Jim. It was confirmed, when he stepped in front of her, and confronted the new figure; he was human, like Jim, clad in all black, with a midnight-black cape.

"Count Dooku. What are you doing here, on Sauria?"

"Oh, come now, master Kenobi. Surely you must have sensed the enormous 'Force' build up in this planet."

"Yes, I have. It's tearing the very planet apart. I'm here to make sure that never happens."

"So am I. By harnessing it as an energy source, I will have a nearly unlimited supply of power."

"And in the process, kill almost every inhabitant on the planet?"

"Well, there are bound to be casualties in war, aren't there?"

'What's going on? Who is this person?' Krystal could not really understand what was going on, until it came to her;

'Jim. He must have put this character in the simulation. the sneaky little-' Just then, Krystal heard a distinct sound, and saw Dooku wielding his red lightsaber. Her view shifted to Jim. He removed his cloak, revealing the tunic, and, surprisingly, the small cylindrical object from the left side of his belt literally flew from it, and into his open right hand. He ignited it, and a blue blade issued from the hilt. Jim got into a combat stance, as did Dooku.

"Krystal, get the spell stones to the chamber. This traitor, is mine." Krystal nodded, still puzzled, and made her way to the open doorway. She was about to enter the awaiting door, when she felt a vice-like grip nearly choke her out. Her hands shot to her neck, but felt nothing. Suddenly, she felt herself being pulled towards the person known as Dooku. She saw the middle-aged man smile through his snow-white beard.

"It is rude, to just leave a host like that. Especially after inviting you in like this." Just then, with a gesture of his hand, she was flung into a wall. She slumped to the floor, and slowly picked herself up.

"KRYSTAL!" Jim shouted.

"I'm...fine." she said uneasily.

"Stay put, girl. I'll see to your friend. He and I, have unfinished business to attend to." Both humans circled eachother. Jim had his saber in both hands, the blade pointed up, while Dooku had his raised above his head. Then, they fought. With fluid like grace, both combatants dueled back and forth. Dooku tried an over-head swing, but Jim merely brought up his saber to block it. He fell for the feint, as Dooku tried a side-swipe. Jim barely brought the blade down in time to block the blow. Then, he pushed Dooku off of him, and assaulted the black-clad warrior, trying all sorts of techniques, but they were all blocked by Dooku's defenses. But still, he fought on. Then, unexpectedly, Jim thrust his left arm out, and Dooku was shoved into a wall by an invisible hand. Jim smiled in satisfaction, and leapt the ten meters to Dooku, who rolled out of the way of Jim's overhead strike. Then, both combatants assaulted eachother; block after counter, strike, after defend, both combatants twirled thier lightsabers around, in a display off skill. Krystal could only watch in awe. 'I never knew that he was _this_ good with a blade. Must be a side-effect of the awakening.'

They fought hard; Jim tried a side-swipe, which Dooku effortlessly blocked, and swung both sabers around, trying to dislodge Jim's from his hands. No success, as Jim backed off, twirled his saber, and ended in a stance.

"I see that Qui-Gon has taught you well. You show no fear, in the face of a better adversary." He emphasized this point, by raising his right hand suddenly, and sending 'Force Lightning' at Jim. Jim blocked this, by raising his saber to block the lightning. The bolts were merely deflected off of the glowing blue/white blade.

"I don't think, that you are better than me, Count. In fact, I believe that it is you, who fear me." Jim knew that Dooku would fall for the taunt; Dooku felt that he had to be the best at everything, better than anyone. And that arrogance, would be his downfall. Dooku, in a fit of rage, send more of the 'Force Lightning' at Jim. Jim raised his saber to defend again, but this was exceptionally difficult, as was evident by the look of effort on his face. Then, he was being forced to his knee.

'If I don't do something, soon, I will fall here.' He looked back at Krystal, who had a worried look on her face. He turned his attention back to Dooku, who grinned in triumph. 'One chance,' Jim twirled out of the way of the 'Force Lightning'. It would have hit Krystal, had she not ducked behind a stone pillar, where it struck harmlessly. In one motion, Jim ended the twirl by throwing his saber at Dooku, who could not raise his saber in time to block it. He tried to move away, but the saber, spinning like a buzzsaw, cut a deep gash on Dooku's arm. He let out a pained grunt, and put a hand to his arm. The saber returned to Jim's hand. Dooku sneered, saying

"Another time, another place, perhaps." He sent a powerful 'Force push' at Jim, which shoved him hard against the wall. When Jim got back up, Dooku was gone.

"Damn..." Jim cursed under his breath. Krystal moved to Jim's side, and helped him up.

"We'll get him. Next time." Krystal said, grinning.

"Are you kidding? Now, I feel like I have to."

"Well, shall we continue, 'master Kenobi'?" she asked, slightly giggling.

"Please, lead on." They exited the chamber, and walked down a hallway. When they made it to the end, they entered the awaiting doorway. The pair had entered an enormous chamber, with a pillar in the center, reaching to unbelievable heights, and coming from what looked like to be a bottomless pit. The pair walked over to the pillar, which had two diamond-shaped indents in it. Krystal reached for her bag, brought it over here shoulder, and set it down on the Palace floor. She pulled out two spell stones, and placed them in the indents. They glowed when they made contact with the pillar, and the pillar itself glowed slightly.

"Pause simulation." Krystal said. The scene froze, and then she said

"Save chapter under 'Krystal Blue."

"Save completed." a computerized voice sounded. Suddenly, the room faded to white.

"I'm feeling hungry. Want to grab something?"

"Uhhh, sure." Jim said, taken by surprise by the sudden turn of events.

They were in the food court of the shopping center; Krystal was having a chef salad, while Jim was eating, again, a supposed oriental-style dish. Jim was eating thoughtfully, when Krystal decided to break the silence;

"You said that you had a theory, about how your race knew about ours. Care to tell me about it?"

"Right. As far as you know, the Lylat Wars, and Aparoid Invasion were the biggest conflicts to hit this system, correct?"

"Yes."

"Well, then, isn't it possible that refugees fled Lylat, in fear of thier lives?" Krystal was starting to understand.

"And, more than likely, stumbled onto Earth!"

"Exactly. Earth and Corneria are a lot alike, in that they were able to support the same type of life forms. They found the conditions favorable, and stayed there."

"But, how would they live among humans?"

"I'm sure that they found a way. My world was full of conspiracy freaks. My mother was one of them. If she saw you, here and now, I'm sure that it would have made her day."

"And from there, the legacy of Star Fox grew, and became a video game." Krystal finished.

"Oh, not just a video game. there were all sorts of media; books, toys, merchandise, you name it. It was a very popular piece of fantasy on my world. The supposed refugees either found employment in Nintendo, which was one of the biggest, if not _the_ biggest, game producing company of its time, or told what they knew to the people who worked there. And from there, the Star Fox legend came to life on Earth." Krystal felt a smile play across her features. There was one thing he kept out, that he kept hidden from her, the time difference; First was Star Fox, for the SNES, then Star fox 64, for the N64. The latter was a remake of the first one, the one that the older generation recognizes the most. Then, for the Game Cube, came 'Adventures', and 'Assault' both of which came within a year of eachother in the game timeline, but in reality, the games were at least five years apart. So, the question that went through Jim's mind at the time was 'What happened during the intermittent periods? A time paradox, a rift in space/time? Or, am I wrong?' Jim kept the thoughts buried, so as to not trouble Krystal. She doesn't know about the games on Earth, so he felt it unnecessary to tell her this now. But still, he can't help but wonder. Then, something caught his eye; a news flash on one of the holographic projectors was showing the battle between Jim, and Angorian.

"Another Appearance by the mysterious red and silver giant, more than likely saved the life of Corneria City, as it fought and defeated the mystery creature that attacked the city, half a week ago. What's going through the public's mind right now is, 'Who or what is this unknown protector?' General Pepper still denies any affiliation with the entity."

"Ironic, since he's the one who's paying me." Jim said. Krystal giggled a bit, and Jim shared a little in that.

"We also have footage of the being on Macbeth; of the giant, disposing yet another giant being that would have otherwise destroyed a small mining town. We had an interview with a couple of the town's inhabitants." The scene of Jim fighting Giradorus, shifted to that of a familiar face that both human and vulpine recognized and smiled to themselves.

"I think that he's here to help us! He saved me and my dad from that big ugly newt, and even stopped those other things before! All those people who say that he's just another monster should be ashamed of themselves!" Tasha stood with her father behind her, smiling.

"It's true. That guy saved both me, and that other guy from those aliens. I think he's nothing, if not valorous."

"Well, at least the public opinion is starting to turn. But, I'm not quite there yet. I still need to prove that I am on their side."

"Why don't you address the public, in your Ultra self?" Jim looked at her, dumbfounded.

"Are you insane? The public would eat me alive! I can't just go out there, willy-nilly, and say 'have no fear, Ultraman is here!' These people need to get used to me, first, before they can trust me. Sure I made a few good impressions, but it still is not enough to sway thier minds totally. My only hope, is to continue fighting for them, and only then will they get the message." Jim looked on in thought.

'But, how long will it be, before they accept me as a protector? A year, ten years, a hundred?' He slammed a fist down in frustration. Jim felt a familiar fur covered hand on top of his, and looked at Krystal, who smiled sympathetically at him. Jim tried to return it, but felt like he was failing at it.

Back on Great Fox, Jim was going over some of his DVDs, trying to see what he felt like, when he came across one that he has not seen in a long time;

'Hmmm, haven't seen 'Krull' in a long time. Think I'll watch it now.' He just placed it in his DVD player hooked up to his laptop, when the chime sounded.

"It's open." he called. Krystal came in, and strode over to Jim.

"What d'ya need?" he asked, smiling.

"Nothing. Just wanted to see how you were doing." She looked over at the laptop, and asked what it was. Jim replied with a smile, saying that it was

"Something that I have not seen in a great long while." His expression changed slightly, and asked "You don't wanna watch it with me, do ya?"

"I'd like that." After setting up the DVD player to the monitor in front of the bed, Krystal sat next to Jim, his arm around her. Halfway through the film, Jim dozed off, and rested his head against her shoulder. Krystal took notice of this, smiled slightly, and held him closer to her. By the time the credits rolled, Krystal herself had fallen asleep as well. And both of them, were out for the rest of the night.


	13. The Child's Hero

Chapter 13

The Child's Hero

Fox was standing out on the second floor balcony, of the Phoenix's home. His thoughts were a whirl, and all focused on one thing;

'Jim has gotten a bit more agitated lately. Am I being paranoid, or is this really the first sign of him losing it? I know that it hasn't been really easy for him. Maybe, I should lighten up a bit. Krystal trusts him, and told me to do the same. But, there's this nagging little voice inside my head that tells me to watch out for him. Every time I see him transform, I get the jitters. It's almost as if...'

Fara stepped out from behind the sliding glass door, to join Fox. The vulpine was more than a little surprised by the sudden guest, and smiled at her.

"Fox McCloud thinking. Now, why does that sound foreboding?" she teased. Fox turned his gaze back out, towards the tree line, but was looking at something very far away.

"It's just, I have a lot on my mind right now. I have a new member to look after, and then, this 'Ultraman', as he calls him, shows up."

"Don't like having your thunder stolen, do you Fox?" "It isn't just that. It's just, I don't know what to make of him."

"Hardly anyone does, he just showed up. About the only person who seems to think the giant's really is on our side is Cody."

"That's because Jim told him that crap about him showing up on Earth."

"So, you don't trust Jim, then." Fox looked at Fara, who now had a serious look.

"It isn't that. I just...think we should be wary of him. We really don't know much about him, and, well, like I said, we don't know what to make of him."

"Give him time. I'm sure, that his true intentions will reveal themselves to us. In the meantime, you should probably take a lesson in having a little faith in others. I'm sure that both Jim and Ultraman would appreciate it." Fara left Fox standing alone, while he turned his gaze skyward again.

Cody was watching the latest bulletin on Ultraman. In it, the red and silver warrior was fighting Giradorus, with Star Fox giving him aid.

'I wonder where he really comes from. Jim said that it was something called M78, but, so far I haven't found any data on an 'M78'. Is it in another galaxy?' Cody switched from the bulletin, back to his PAD, scrolling through the different galaxies and nebulas. All of them were very different, but none of them were M78. He sighed in frustration, and fell onto his bed, looking up at the cieling.

'I wonder, what he's doing right now?' he thought, before dozing off.

The next morning, Cody got ready for school. After his usual morning routine, he boarded the hover bus, and sat next to Samantha, a girl badger around his age.

"Hey, Sam. What's new?"

"Did you see the latest? That giant is really causing a buzz."

"I know. Fox seems to know something about him, but won't tell my sister what it is."

"What do you think it is?"

"Probably where he comes from. Fox has a new guy working for him, and he says that he has seen that giant before, on his own homeworld."

"No way!"

"Really. He even had a name for him, too. It was uru-something. It was in his native language, but said that, it was translated to 'Ultraman'."

"'Ultraman'...it certainly fits him." Samantha said, smiling.

"I know. He also said that, he came from somewhere called 'M78'." Samantha gaped at him.

"What?"

"Cody, M78 is in a nebula, four galaxies away from here. He'd have to travel millions of light years, just to reach us half way."

"Are you serious?"

"My dad works as an astronomer for the Space Technologies department in the military, remember?"

"Right. So, do you think that your dad could show us M78?"

"I'm sure he could, but, I'm not so sure that he would just let us. This giant business is serious stuff, Cody. I heard my dad talking that it could very well be a military weapon."

"I don't think he is. If he was, then why would he protect those people who were nearly killed by that giant fish thing, instead of just destroying it, regardless of casualties?"

"Maybe he's a considerate secret weapon?"

"No. I still think that he's an alien." All through the bus ride, Cody was still thinking about him, wondering just who he really is.

'Jim said that, he protected Earth from crisises, except for when it was finally...destroyed. And then he said that, Ultraman may have followed him here from Earth. Are they...connected somehow?'

Class started, and Cody found himself daydreaming once again. He snapped out of it, when he was handed his assignment. He filled it out, not really thinking about the problems. After turning the sheet down on his desk, he stared out of the window, overlooking the city, and mountain range, once more lost in daydream. Ever since he was little, he always wanted to fly in the arwing that both his father and sister had made. And now Fox, the closest thing he has had to an older brother, was an ace pilot in one, leading his own mercenary group. He wanted to be just like him, when he grew up. He imagined, dancing among the stars in his arwing, shooting down enemies left and right; untouchable, unbeatable, just like Fox.

'If only, they'd let me inside of one. I'd show them what I can really do.' The bell rang, and Cody headed for the cafeteria with Samantha. After nabbing the hot lunch, both of them sat down with another of thier friends, a meek looking hedgehog, who had his nose inside of a book.

"Hey, Miles. Watcha readin'?"

"Advanced quantum mechanics. This stuff is really keen." Cody looked at the cover, and groaned, while Samantha giggled slightly. They sat, ate, and conversed for a while.

"Miles, what do you think about this new giant that everyone is talking about?"

"It's really a no brainer, Cody. He practically screams military weapon."

"You think that, he was made by our military?"

"It's possible. But, one thing is for certain; he most definitely is not the result of evolution. There have been no records of his kind, or anything remotely like him that I could find."

"There probably are no records, because no one had discovered his race, yet." Cody said. Miles simply gave him an annoyed look.

"Look, Cody, in order for a being to become something like that, it would have to evolve into a type of living energy. A being of energy is capable of just about anything. The only person that I could think of who came close to doing that is Andross. And Star Fox took him down not once, but twice."

"You have a point, but still, I don't think that he is a military weapon."

"Why not. We have constructed advanced machines and robots over the years. This might be a more advanced model."

"But, why would he protect those people in Corneria City from that monster?"

"Maybe it was programmed to place civilian lives first, above completing a mission."

"I don't believe that he is a machine, or a weapon, or anything like that."

"Is it because of what that guy showed you on your birthday? Come on, he was probably making that up."

"If he made it up, then why did those characters look a lot like that red and silver giant?"

"He probably made those himself. A custom-made music video. You know how popular those are. The point is, Cody, that an actual 'Ultraman' existing is just science fiction." Cody was not convinced. At that moment, he wondered what it was that Jim was doing.

"What am I doing?" Jim shouted to no one in particular. He was staring off into space, again, while trying to work on his writing. He was more than halfway done with his story, when the research team starts to get eaten by the indigenous prehistoric life-forms that are currently residing in the deep-water trench, when he was feeling for the main character, trying to feel what it was that he was feeling; hopelessness, sorrow, regret. The sudden outburst shocked even him.

'I need to stop doing that', he thinks to himself. He got up from his desk, stretched, and went out of his room to the rec' room. Since the Great fox would still be in the docks for a day and a half, the team was out and about on Corneria. That is, everyone except Jim, and a certain blue vixen. Krystal was sitting on the couch, watching the latest bulletin. She felt Jim's presence, turned back, and smiled at the human.

"Anything good on?"

"No. Just you, I'm afraid." she said, amusingly. It was the fight between Jim and Giradorus.

"Are they still on about that? That was like, what, two days ago?"

"That, and all of your other exploits for the past two weeks."

"Two weeks? Is that how long I've been doing this? It feels like, forever."

"I know. I still remember when you left for M78." Jim did as well. Sitting next to Krystal, he recounted the fateful day.

It was sunset. The CACC complex was standing against the falling sun, a dark giant against the orange and red. Jim was standing in the center of the complex, in the clearing, the trees swaying in the wind, the grass moving slightly. He was waiting for the escort from the Land of Light to pick him up. The Star Fox team with General Pepper were standing just a few meters behind him. The anthros were tense, waiting for anything to happen, except for General Pepper. He just stood there, with a slight smile playing across his muzzle. Then, he felt it. Jim's head shot straight up, and was watching the sky. Krystal felt it too, a presence was approaching them. It was far away, but it would reach them in but moments. Then, they all saw it. A red star appeared in the sky. Then, the star grew, and became a crimson sphere. It was descending right onto the group. When it settled down on the ground, the Star Fox team stared at it, slack-jawed; the sphere itself was at least twenty meters in diameter, and a kind of humming noise could be heard, coming from the glowing red sphere. Then, the team could see movement inside, and moved closer to Jim to get a better look. What they saw amazed them; it was a young man, wearing a broad grin on his face. He looked to be about Jim's age.

"Are you...Mebius?" Jim asked, in awe.

"How did you know?" the young man asked, still grinning.

"I...just did." Mebius nodded.

"Your memories are starting to take hold, nii-san. I have been sent by Zoffy to take you home."

"I know. I felt it."

"We should get going. There is so much to do."

"WAIT!" Jim and Mebius turned, and Krystal embraced Jim, for what seemed like the final time. Jim returned it, while Krystal whispered

"Not yet. Don't go, just yet."

"I will return, Krystal. And when I do, there is something that I would like to talk with you about."

"Can't you tell me here?"

"No. Not until I have sorted out everything on M78." Krystal held onto Jim for that one precious moment, while Mebius smiled behind them, feeling the emotions from both of them. Finally, Jim let go, and entered the crimson sphere with Mebius. Krystal had tears coming down, as she watched the sphere head up into the sky.

'Don't be sad, Krystal. Remember, the ring that I gave you. When you feel that you cannot protect those that you love, use the ring, and I will answer.' Krystal looked down at the ring that he gave her, and saw it glow a pulsating scarlet, and allowed herself to smile through her tears.

Back from memory, Krystal felt the tears on her face, and wiped them away. She turned to face Jim, who also looked at her.

"Before, you said that you wanted to talk to me about something. What was it?" Jim felt himself being caught off gaurd, and stammered.

"Uh, well, I-umm..."

"Well?" Krystal asked, grinning broadly as Jim's face turned red, and he turned away.

"Well, what I wanted to talk to you about was...well, awkward, to ask in front of the others. What it was, was..." Jim tried to find the right words, while Krystal rested her head upon her arms, which were placed on his shoulder. She never lost her broad grin.

"Hmmmm?" she asked, expectantly. Jim was still stuttering and stammering, as the piercing emerald eyes gazed into his own steel grey eyes. Jim was leaning back, trying to move away from the emerald eyes. He landed on his back on the sofa, with Krystal on top of him. She leaned in close, and nuzzled her nose against his, still smiling. He felt that it was slightly moist, and felt her rest her head against his chest. His heartbeat just quickened, as the vixen was on top of him. She smiled at his reaction, saying

"Do I excite you this much?"

"Uhh, well I..., uhhh, ah crap."

"Just say it."

"Yes, you do. I don't even know why. It's something that I didn't think would be possible for me to feel."

"That happens, when you are around someone that you care about. Especially in the way that you do. Now, what was it that you wanted to ask me?"

"I was wondering, if you were still serious about being around me more. About, showing your feelings to me, in the way that you wanted to, without anyone around. I was wondering, if you were falling for me." Krystal was caught off gaurd herself by this. She had come to care for him, as deeply as any one of her fellow team-mates. But, the emotions that he elicits from her, emotions that she had not felt in a long time, that she thought that they were all but forgotten. When he arrived, those feelings rose to the surface, even after the Fox/Fara debacle. Did she really care that much for him?

'I don't know. Even I am still uncomfortable about the issue of he and I being together intimately. I did say that I did not care what others think about us, but, thinking about it now, about us...' She lifted her head off of his chest, to look him in the eye. his heart had slowed a little, but it was still pumping hard. Jim's face, was one of seriousness.

'Please, be honest with me.' He communicated through thier rapport.

"I...don't know. I do care for you, but...I just don't know." She looked away from him, and he simply smiled.

"I see. I'm the same way."

"Like, we have known eachother, but don't remember. Dej'a' vu." Krystal finalized. She turned her gaze back to Jim, and the human met it.

"Now, for the special report: Today's victim of a vicious murder makes it number ten in the last week. Authorities still don't know who or what is causing them." Jim and Krystal looked at the news, and saw a covered body on a gurney being wheeled away to an ambulance, with a crowd of people and reporters around.

"One clue has been found; a strange message written in the victim's blood, in a language that no one can decipher. Authorities believe that this is simply a hoax." The scene shifted to a shot of the blood-writ message. It was on the ground, next to the outline of where the victim was killed. Jim shot straight up when he saw it.

"It can't be..."

"What's wrong?" Krystal asked.

"The message...it's written in kanji..."

"You mean...Japanese?"

"Exactly." Krystal turned her gaze back to the bulletin. Indeed, the blood was written in the Japanese language. Jim clenched his fists as he read the message;

'Meet me at the warehouse near here, if you do not want more people to suffer...' Someone was calling him out.

"Jim..."

"I have to go."

"I'm coming with you."

"No. You remain here. I don't want you ending up as another casualty, not because of me." Krystal took the human's face in both of her hands, and Jim looked at her.

"If we stand together, you won't allow me to be one." Jim smiled slightly, and nodded. Both of them made thier way to the hangar. Krystal hopped into her arwing, but didn't see Jim enter his. "Jim?" She saw the human standing in front of the gateway.

"I think I'll do this, while 'in costume'." Jim placed the Spacium Brace over his heart, where it flashed, then placed his left hand over the brace, then threw his arms out, crucifix style, shouting "GAAAIIYYOOOOO!" A crimson flash filled the hangar, and when it cleared, Jim was standing, as Ultraman Jim in his classic pose. He turned to face Krystal, and through thier rapport said 'If this guy knows me, I think it best to humor him, for now.' Krystal nodded. The hangar door opened. Great Fox was still docked, and there were people still abound. Jim hopped onto Krystal's wing, not wanting the populace to see an Ultra exit the hangar with an arwing. Krystal took off, with Jim holding onto the wing.

'Jim, do you think that you could feel out the murderer?'

'Already on it.' Jim reached out with his senses, trying to locate the position of the killer.

Cody and his friends were walking back, having missed the bus, again.

"This is your fault, Miles. If you hadn't dropped your glasses at that precise moment, we wouldn't be in this mess right now!"

"Do you have any idea what my mom will do to me if I lose these?"

"Do you have any idea what my dad will do to me, when he finds out I missed the bus, and had to walk home?" Cody groaned in frustration, at the two bickering anthros. He looked to his right, and saw what he was hoping for.

"Guys, there's the warehouse! If we cut through it, it will definitely save us time." Both badger and hedgehog looked over, and saw it too. It was a rundown storage warehouse, abandoned for years. They always went there on the weekends to play. Both of them nodded, and the three kids made a beeline for the building.

He knew he saw movement from there. As the officer stepped out from his patrol vehicle, he took the radio mic from its resting place, and placed it to his face.

"Unit 376 to H.Q., come in."

"Unit 376, this is H.Q., go ahead."

"I saw suspicious activity by the abandoned Henderson warehouse. I'm going to check it out. I shouldn't be more than fifteen minutes. Keep the coffee hot for me, would ya?" "This is H.Q., over. And as for the coffee, you'd better hurry before there is none left to keep hot."

"Roger, radio, out." he said smiling, expecting a response.

"Don't call me radio, 376."

"Don't call me 376, radio." He signed off with a broad grin. He stepped over to the ware house, unaware of the figure watching him intently from above.

Cody and friends entered from the back entrance, and saw all the dusty and dirty equipment that has been left behind. Cranes and chains hung silently, barely moving, while conveyor belts had what looked like centuries-old dust on them. They moved through them, hardly touching anything. Then, as they neared the other entrance, they saw the officer. The uniform-clad German Shepherd had not seen them, yet, and decided to hide before he did see them. They hid behind various machinery, while slightly peeking over to see the Shepherd walking around, as if looking for something. Looking satisfied, he turned to leave, when a haunting voice laughed, echoing through the warehouse. The kids were frozen with fright, while the officer whirled this way and that, pulling out his blaster, ready to fire. Just then, the voice said something in a language that none of them understood, or recognized. Then, a figure clad in an overcoat and fedora jumped down from above, and landed in front of the startled officer.

"Who are you?" the officer shouted. With his face hidden, the figure made no attempt to answer.

"I ask again, who are you?" Still no answer. The figure is as stoic as a rock.

"Fine, you're coming with me." The officer grabbed the handcuffs from behind him, and grabbed the figure's right arm. The figure grabbed the officer, who grunted in pain in a grip that was like iron. The figure removed the hand from his arm, and brought the officer to his knees, saying in perfect Cornerian/English

"Lower life-form trash such as yourself should know thier place in the evolutionary ladder. You do not get to touch me." With that, with his own hand on the officer's arm, he twisted his hand, and a sickening snap was heard, followed by a scream of pain from the shepherd. The officer fell to his back, grasping his twisted and broken arm in pain. The figure walked over, and picked up the officer with one arm, lifting him clean off the ground. the children watched in horror as the figure did this. Then, he raised his right arm, and a blade like protrusion came out of the slit on the forearm. With three quick slices, the shepherd was still. The figure dropped the body, and the kids could see the figure's handiwork; his face, twisted in agony, had an ugly gash going diagonally across the face, while two wicked looking lacerations cut themselves through the chest and abdominals. At that moment, Samantha decided to scream. The figure turned suddenly at the noise, and spotted the children.

"Ah, more friends for me to play with..." The children ran for the back exit, but the figure leapt over them, and cut off thier escape. He towered over them, and brandished his forearm blade in a threatingly manner.

"Wh-who are you?" Cody asked, his voice filled with fear. The figure replied, laughing "I am the stuff of nightmares. I am the bogeyman, and your end."

'I've found him! He's near here!' Jim mentally shouted. He leapt off of Krystal's wing, and flew towards the edge of the city, with Krystal following behind him.

The kids were backing away from the figure, who in turn advanced on them. He laughed, and raised his arm, about to bring it down on them. Cody, who was shielding the others, shut his eyes, and waited for the inevitable. Then, a red and silver blur slammed itself into the figure, sending it flying into a wall with a yell. Then, Cody could see who it was that saved them; Ultraman Jim was standing in between them, and the figure. He turned his silver head at them, and said

"Are you alright?" in a kind, distorted voice. Cody could only nod his head, while the others gaped.

"You're-you're-"

"What?"

"You're...not a giant..."

"Oh, heh." Ultraman chuckled.

"Well, how else would I fit in this tiny warehouse, hm?" The kids continued to stare at the red and silver being. Just then, Krystal came running in, her blaster drawn. She saw Ultraman with the kids, and smiled.

"Cody!" The young vulpine looked behind Ultraman, and smiled at the grinning vixen. He ran over to Krystal, and embraced her. Ultraman nodded at her, and she returned it.

"Krystal, get the kids outta here."

"Right. Okay, children, let's go."

"I don't think so!" Just then, The doors slammed shut, and the figure got back to his feet, recovered from the sudden attack. Krystal took up a battle stance, while the kids hid behind her. However, it wasn't them that the figure was interested in.

"Uruturaman..." he said in Japanese. Jim decided to switch dialects, and try to find out what is going on.

"Who are you? Why have you attacked and murdered innocent people?"

"'People' You call these creatures people? They are lower than the humans that your kind has protected over the years."

"Show yourself, coward. I want to see the face of the life that I will make wish had not been born." Jim raised a clenched fist to emphasize the point. While the conversation was going on, the kids were at a loss, for they did not know in what language it was that the two were speaking.

"Krystal, what are they saying?" Cody asked, looking up at her.

"I do not know, Cody." The figure raised his hands to his fedora, and the collar of his overcoat, and ripped them off of him. The anthros all gasped, while Jim uttered

"Mazika..."; The Figure was gold and black, with the gold acting as a type of battle armor, and had wicked looking spikes along the arms and shoulders. It had a human mask-like face, while gold hair adorned his scalp, topped off by two horn-like spikes coming out of the sides of the head. The figure brushed some of the hair out of one of its eyes in a cocky manner. The others did not recognize him, but Jim knew that he could be only one being.

"Babalu..."

"Surprised to see me here, Ultraman? Ha ha ha ha ha."

"What are you doing here, Babalu?" Jim asked, pointing an accusing finger at the Seijin.

"After Earth was destroyed, I decided to find a new planet for me to have a bit of fun with. And lo and behold; Corneria. The jewel in the crown of Lylat. Once I wipe you out, I plan on showing these lower life-forms the true meaning of despair." The two alien beings were circling eachother, while conversing.

"I will not let that happen, Babalu. I will make sure that your soul goes to Hell, this time."

"How can you defend these people? They're hardly better than humans. Is it because, maybe, you fell for one?" Jim stiffened, and Babalu sensed this.

"Ohhh, that is rich." He laughed out loud at this, as if it were the greatest joke in the history of existence.

"An Ultraman, falling for an animal! Oh, if only Zoffy, and the other Garrison members could see this, ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

"Sh-shut up! That's none of your business!"

"Maybe, when I'm done with you, I'll have some fun with her." He turned from Jim, and looked at Krystal. He made a gesture of him blowing a kiss to her, and Krystal shuddered at the action in revulsion. He turned back to Jim, and shouted "Ikzuu!" Jim answered by shouting Babalu's name, and performed a jump kick at the alien, who evaded it. The two fought back and forth, each one using thier knowledge of thier native martial arts; Babalu did a spin kick, which Jim ducked under, and came up with an upper-cut that sent the alien stumbling back. He recovered, and slashed with his forearm blade, trying to get a slice out of the red and silver warrior. Jim ducked and dodged the swings, and tried to land a blow on the gold and black invader, but Babalu blocked his moves. Then, Babalu did a drop kick, that Jim blocked with his arms. He threw his arms out, forcing Babalu off of him, and making him land on his feet a few meters away. Both combatants were in thier combat stances, circling eachother.

"Go for it! Don't let him win, Ultraman!" Both aliens looked back, and saw Cody cheering him on, as well as the other kids. Jim looked at Krystal, who smiled and nodded at him. Jim returned it, and Faced Babalu again. This time, Jim came at Babalu with a straight punch, that Babalu easily caught, as Jim expected. Jim then placed a side-kick to the invader's ribs, making him grunt in pain, and did a shoulder toss, throwing the alien several feet away. Jim got back into his combat stance, while Babalu slammed his fists down in fury. He got back to his feet, and thrust his left arm out. On it, was a telescope looking object on it. However, when Babalu thrusted it forward, it shot purple blasts of energy. Jim cartwheeled out of the way of the blasts, as they exploded where he had been standing. Babalu took aim again, and fired. Jim dodged, rolled, ducked, and back flipped out of the way of the blasts, while explosions were happening around him. Babalu then turned to face the cheering anthros, muttered

"Annoying little pests," and fired at them.

"NOOOO!" Jim shouted. The kids shut thier eyes, but the blasts never touched them. They were deflected off of a shining sphere of light.

"Nani?" Babalu shouted in surprise. The kids looked around them, and saw the barrier surrounding them. Then, Cody looked up, and saw Krystal had her extended staff drawn, placed an end into the ground, erecting the force field. She looked at him. Cody smiled at her, and she returned it. Babalu growled in rage, and was preparing to fire more of the energy blasts, when a kick threw off his aim, followed by a silver fist decking him in the face. Babalu stumble back, and glared at Jim, who stood in his combat stance, in between him and the group.

"give up, Babalu. You have lost this fight here." Babalu shook his fists in anger, and aimed his forearm blaster at Ultraman once more. This time, Ultraman did not avoid them, for fear of them hitting the group behind him. Instead, he placed his wrists together, and the blasts exploded harmlessly against his Jim's forearms. Babalu wiped his eyes in amazement, and said

"Mazika." in surprise. Jim then raised his right arm straight up, where energy swirled around it. Then, he swung it down, shouting "Spaciummu...", then he placed his hands and arms in a plus shape, and shouted "KOUSEN!" At that moment, a blue/white beam erupted out of the edge of his horizontal right hand. Babalu tried to evade the shot, but it clipped him in the shoulder. He gave a pained yell, and slumped to the ground. He looked back at Jim, who still held the pose for a minute, then stood up straight, waiting for the invader to make his move. Babalu uneasily got back to his feet, and said

"Another time, another place. I will definitely beat you for sure. Count on it." Just then, Babalu slammed his fists into the ground, and an explosion ensued. Jim rushed over to where the invader was, but the gold and black alien had disappeared.

"Until next time, Babalu..." Jim said, under his breath. He turned back to the group, and went over to them.

"Are you all right?" he asked.

"We are fine, thank you." Jim nodded at them, and looked down at the kids, who stared at him in awe. Jim nodded at them, knelt down, and asked

"Where do you live?" Krystal smiled at what Jim was thinking.

Outside of the warehouse, Jim had the kids and Krystal standing near him. Then, he placed his forearms, crossed, in front of his forehead. Grunting with effort, he slowly lowered them, then threw them down at his sides. The group de-materialized. When they re-materialized, they were standing in front of a house, one that Samantha smiled broadly at. She looked back at Jim, and said

"Thank you," and Jim nodded, tussling her hair. She giggled, and ran towards the house, opened the door, and ran inside. Jim did the same gesture again, and appeared outside of Miles's home. After he said thanks, he too ran inside. he did the gesture a third time, and was outside of the Phoenix's home. After Cody embraced Jim and Krystal, he ran inside. Jim turned to Krystal, saying

"I can only use my teleportation so many times, before it starts to wear on me. So, I'm afraid that our trip back to your arwing might be a bit less, instantaneous."

"What do you-" She didn't finish, as Jim held her close to him. Then, with a loud "SHUWATCH!", the two were flying through the sky. Krystal held onto Jim for dear life, while Jim held her in front of him, his arms under her back and legs. The blue furred vixen was looking down below them, and then buried her face against Jim's neck, her eyes shut. Her arms were also wrapped around his neck, that if not for the thick muscles, might have strangled him. Jim inwardly smiled at Krystal. She felt this, looked at the silver face, which looked back at her. She smiled, and felt Jim smile underneath the metallic visage. Just then, Jim stopped in mid-air.

"What's wrong?" Krystal asked.

"Do you want to head back for your fighter, or take the long way, and head back for the Great Fox?" Krystal thought then smiled. Jim felt her decision through the rapport, and headed for the Great Fox, while Krystal was looking ahead, smiling contentedly.


	14. A Grave Betrayal

Chapter 14

A Grave Betrayal

"Very interesting." The figure was sitting in the recliner, facing the view looking out over Corneria city. He held a PAD, which had a recording of the fight between Babalu, and Ultraman. The said invader was standing in front of the desk, arms folded across his gold-plated chest. If not for his mask-like face, his expression would be humiliated fury.

"I have seen his strengths. Now, I would like to focus on his weaknesses. That is why you were brought here, you know this race better than most. You know what makes them tick."

"I don't see why you don't just let me kill him. He's a rookie, he doesn't know of his full potential, I doubt he even knows what his mission really is."

"Even so, I would like you to cause more mayhem, attract him to you, and this time, actually try to kill him."

"Yes, my most gracious employer." As Babalu exited the office, the figure grinned broadly, thinking 'Soon. Soon, all will be my possession.' As Babalu made his way down the hallway, passing the various anthros, his contempt for them grew.

'Stinking animals. I should just destroy them all, right here and now. I have laid waste to dozens of systems, and conquered an entire galaxy! Now, I am reduced to a lackey!'

"Feeling sour, golden-child?" Babalu whirled, and glared at Clara. The female lupine was leaning against a wall, arms folded, wearing a devilish grin on her canine features.

"What have I told you about calling me that?" Babalu growled.

"Oh, come on. You know you like it."

"What I like, is nothing more than to rip that arrogant bastard's gonads off, and send them to a dark void." Babalu clenched his right fist in rage, as if to emphasize his point.

"Ultraman's, or our employer?" Clara asked, still smiling.

"Both, especially our employer."

"Really? I thought you'd be more mad at the kid." He turned to face her, his facial expression blank, but his voice was full of arrogance.

"The Ultra I can deal with, but being used by an inferior animal just sickens me."

"Deal with it. These are _his_ orders. Remember who set you free from that prison."

"I do. But you hate this more than I do, Clara. Or, should I say-"

"Do not, _say_ that name..." she snarled, revealing her fangs.

"I can't imagine being one of them on a daily basis. It must kill you inside to look like a mangy wolf all the time." Babalu chuckled, fueling Clara's rage, but she kept it bottled up and stormed off in a rage. Babalu felt a bit better about himself, but still felt angered at being used. Oh, well, the boss said mayhem. 'Well, that's just what he will get, he.'

When Fox found out about Jim's battle with Babalu from Cody, he was less than pleased. After ordering Jim and Krystal into his office, he lost all relaxation, and wore an expression of seriousness. "You mind telling me, just what the hell you were doing out there, Jim?"

"My duties, Fox."

"And what, pray tell, are those duties?"

"To protect Corneria from any and all aggressive forces, both foreign and domestic." Jim kept his expression blank, as he talked to Fox. The male vulpine sat behind his desk, elbows on the edge, hands together.

"Really. It looked like to me, that you were just playing hero."

"Excuse me?" Jim allowed disbelief into his voice, while Krystal looked at him in puzzlement. Fox pressed a switch on his desk, and a hologram behind them materialized. It was the fight between Babalu and Jim, while the kids were cheering from the sidelines.

"You think this is all a game? You think that no one could get hurt from this?"

"'Get hurt'? That officer that Babalu attacked died, Fox! You're asking me if I think that no one could get hurt from this? I'm thankful, no, _grateful_ that the kids didn't get hurt. If it hadn't been for Krystal, they'd be dead!" Jim gestured to her. She kept her face blank, but inwardly smiled at the statement.

"That's the other thing. Endangering kids like that, especially Cody, just makes me want to point a blaster at your skull at point blank, and pull the trigger." Now Jim blew up, slamming his fists on Fox's desk.

"ARE YOU ON CRACK?! You'd honestly think that I would _willingly_ throw kids in a dangerous situation, just to show off?"

"Jim, calm down." Krystal placed a caring hand on the human's arm, and Jim relaxed somewhat. Krystal took over.

"Fox, the children were already _in_ danger. We simply pulled them _out_ of danger. Instead of cracking down on him like this, you should be giving him a medal." Now it was Jim's turn to smile on the inside.

"That doesn't matter. What does matter, is that he let that alien, 'Baboon', or whatever his name is, escape. "

"_Babalu, _will reveal himself again. And when he does, we must be ready. Or rather, I have to be."

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"Babalu sent that message to call me out, and he said that he'll be gunning for me. Therefore, I have decided to take a sabbatical, and try to find and destroy him, before he hurts anyone else." Krystal looked at him in disbelief, while Fox merely kept his expression a blank. Jim stormed out, and Krystal looked at Fox, expecting a reaction, but getting none. 'Why? Why does he still remain suspicious of me? What do I have to do for him to trust me?' Jim thought bitterly, as he walked down the hallway, sulking. Krystal caught up to him.

"Are you serious, about leaving?"

"Yes. I need to know where Babalu is, so I can take him down for good. Also, it would appear that I have worn out my welcome."

"That's not true. Fox is just..."

"Worried that I'll turn against you guys, right?" Krystal said nothing. Jim leaned against the wall, and slumped to the ground, and buried his head in his arms. Krystal walked over, and placed a caring hand on his shoulder. "What must I do, to get him to trust me," he said, without lifting his head. Krystal could only look at him. "Tell me, what must I do?" His head shot up, bearing tears of frustration, and anger. Krystal embraced him, and brought him up. Jim held her, not wanting to let go the closest friend he has in the Lylat system. Krystal pulled away from him, and wiped his tears away.

"Let's go."

"Where to?"

"My room." Jim's pulse just quickened a bit, and he swallowed hard. The blue vixen merely giggled, saying "Not like that. I may know a way on how to find Babalu."

It was on one of the colony planets, that Babalu touched down at. Taking the guise of a Doberman, he made his way into the settlement. It was one of the larger colonies, practically the size of a town, with at least a thousand inhabitants. 'Perfect,' Babalu thought. He walked into a nearby convenience store, and made his way to the reception desk. A stout-looking porcupine was standing there, wearing an apron, and a smile. "Can I help you, sir?"

"Why, yes, you can." Babalu said, returning the smile.

"Oh, good. What can I do for you?" Babalu raised his left arm, and said

"You can die."

"I'm sorry?" Before the porcupine could realize what he meant, Babalu, still in his Doberman disguise, thrust his left arm forward, and his forearm blaster materialized out of then air. He fired a purple blast of energy, and blew the porcupine's head off, the decapitated body falling to the floor, twitching. The patrons all screamed in horror when they saw this, and many of them ran out of the store. Babalu laughed maniacally at this, and revealed his true form to the people. They stared in horror at the invader.

"You lower life-forms should know your place in the order of things." Babalu said in Japanese. None of the other people understood him, nor did they have to, to know what it was that Babalu was going to do. 'This will be fun,' the invader thought, amusingly.

In Krystal's room, both the vixen and Jim sat cross-legged, facing eachother. "In order for me to do this, I need two things. The first, is that I need you to concentrate really hard, which should not present a problem for you. The other, however, is a bit more personal."

"What is it?"

"Are you still adamant on leaving the team?"

"Yes. I need to do this, on my own, without Fox or the others lousing me up."

"In which case, you need to take me with you." Jim stared at her, while she retained that look of seriousness around her.

"And why, pray tell, would I do that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Because of two things; first, you need someone who knows the Lylat system better than you do, and I'm the only one willing to show you. Second, I'm the only other person here who has telepathic abilities, like you do. You will need me to help feel out for the invader, should he decide to leave the area that we would search after this." Jim said nothing.

'She has me by the throat. I guess I have no choice,'

"Glad you agree." Krystal said, smiling at Jim's thought. The human said nothing, merely turning his head away. just then, Krystal's staff, which was lying in front of them in its compact form, started to glow a sky blue. then, it floated off of the floor, and hovered in between them. Still glowing, it started to spin, until it was little more than a blur. Then, Krystal closed her eyes, and Jim could feel her sending her thoughts out to the staff, and looked on in wonder.

'I need you, for this as well. You know what to look for, better than I do.' Krystal communicated, via telepathy.

'What must I do?'

'Just think about the alien, and the staff will do the rest. I am merely acting as a focal point.' Jim nodded, and closed his eyes, and imagined Babalu. Just then, his mind was awash of destruction, and agony. Then, he saw Babalu laughing, blasting away at anything that moved. 'No, that's...'

'That is where he is at now.'

'Do you know where it is?'

'Yes. I can show you.' Then, the carnage was replaced by an image of a planet that was light brown, with spots of blue around it. Jim memorized it. Then, the image faded. Jim opened his eyes, and saw Krystal panting slightly, sweat matting her fur in places.

"Are you okay?" Jim asked.

"I'm fine. I just haven't done that in a long while."

"Do you know the name of the planet?"

"Yes. It is one of the outer-rim planets, just at the edge of the system. It is called, Rygelius, I believe."

"Then, that is where we are headed."

"I'll get my arwing prepped,' Krystal said, holstering her blaster and staff. As she headed for the door, Jim held her arm. She looked at him.

"Two things; 1. Babalu would be long gone by the time we get there, and 2. I don't want Fox to know about this."

"Then what do you propose that we do?" Krystal asked. Jim smiled at this, and placed the Spacium Brace over his heart. It flashed once, and he placed his left hand over the Brace, then threw his arms out, crucifix style, shouting "GAAAIIIYYOOO!" Then a brilliant flash filled the room, and Ultraman Jim was standing where the human was just a second ago.

"My way's faster," Ultraman said, a smile playing itself in his distorted voice. Krystal smiled herself.

He was enjoying himself. All the destruction, mayhem, and despair he was causing, almost made up for the lousy way he was feeling. 'It's like the good old days, again,' Babalu thinks to himself. He was walking down the street, still man-sized, blasting at anything that looked like it needed it. Since it was a relatively small settlement, becoming his giant form would end the fun quickly, and he wanted it to last. Just then, Krystal and Ultraman Jim materialized out of thin air, several blocks behind Babalu. Krystal looked around at the death and destruction that Babalu had caused, and felt anger and sadness well up from her soul. Jim looked over, and saw the pained angry look on her face. He placed a silver hand on her shoulder, and the blue vixen looked at him. He nodded assuredly, and she returned it. Then, she saw him. Krystal bolted over to where Babalu was walking leisurely, as if out for a stroll. She unholstered her blaster, and shot at Babalu. The green bolts lanced across the golden armor of his back, but did no apparent damage. However, he must have felt them, for he turned around, and faced the blue vixen. He laughed at her. "Well, well. We meet again, my beautiful little beast."

"You're the beast, here! You slaughtered these poor people!"

"Really? So, you do consider yourselves people, then. Interesting, since on Earth, your cousins look hardly different from you."

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?"

"It means that, to a superior being like me, you're no better than a mangy animal." Krystal felt her blood boil over. First, he slaughtered these poor innocents, then had the gall to call her an animal. Jim ran next to her, and pointed at Babalu.

"Give this up, invader! You cannot win this fight!"

"Funny, I was going to tell you the same thing."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean, that I know your weaknesses."

"What?"

"It's true. You see, I didn't come here, entirely of my own volition."

"How do you mean?"

"When I escaped from that stinking prison I was thrown into by your brethren, I was led here by an inhabitant of the Lylat system. He gave me a proposal; work for him, and I will get my shot at revenge, starting with you."

"You mean, a Cornerian is behind all of this?" Jim asked, not believing what it was that he was hearing.

"Yes. He came to me, because he knew that I have knowledge about the Ultras. Including thier weaknesses. And you suffer the same flaws."

"Enough! Tell me, who is behind all of this!"

"Oh, I'll tell you, if you can beat me." Just then, both aliens got into thier combat

stances, and circled eachother. Krystal kept a bead on the invader. "Keep a tighter leash on your pretty little pet, and tell her to heel." Babalu taunted.

"Why, you son of a-"

"Krystal, I'll handle this!" Jim said. She knew that he was right, but that still did not help much. She still kept her bead, even as the aliens went at it. Both of them entered with a judo chop, and caught eachother at the wrists. They moved in close, thier faces mere inches apart, then forced the other away. Jim came at Babalu with a jump kick, and Babalu rolled out of the way. He came up, and tried to slash Jim with his forearm blade. Jim blocked the swing, and countered with a side kick, and planted a fist in the alien's face, making him stumble back. They circled eachother again, and Jim came in with a crane-chop, and Babalu did an aerial flip, evading the attack. Jim whirled, and was sideswiped by a kick to his ribs. Babalu then had him in a headlock, and planted his knee in Jim's midsection repeatedly, elicit pained grunts each time. Jim then wrapped his arms around Babalu's midsection, and stood upright, lifting Babalu off of the ground, and both fell backward, with Babalu landing hard on his back with a grunt. Both aliens got back up, and faced eachother. then, Babalu laughed. "What's so funny?" Jim shouted.

"You're so dumb. Haven't you wondered why I've always fought you human-sized?" Jim said nothing. "I'll tell you; because I know that you burn up more energy fighting as a giant, and I want our fights to last. And, do you feel that?" Babalu asked, looking around, sweeping with his arms. "That feeling of exhaustion? I chose this planet, because of its atmosphere's similarities to Earth's, which leeches the solar energy you need to sustain yourself. I imagine that Corneria and the other planets have something similiar. That is one weakness. The other, is THIS!" Just then, Babalu's mask like mouth opened, and an icy mist blew forth. Jim tried to evade it, but wasn't quick enough. Soon, he was encased in a block of ice, kneeling, his arms up as if to ward off the attack. "Ha ha! How does it feel, Ultra, to 'be on ice'? Ha!"

'Damn! I'm stuck, and he knows it! Now what do I do?' Jim thought furiously, as he tried to figure out a way out of his icy prison. Babalu waltzed over, and knelt to Jim's eye-level.

"I'll give you a choice; surrender to me, or die a frozen, lingering death."

'Go to hell, Babalu!' Jim communicated through telepathy.

"So, I guess you'll die here then." Babalu shrugged. Just then, A blue shape leapt up from behind Jim, and planted a foot in Babalu's face, making the invader stumble back. Then, the invader was met with a spin-kick to the face, making him fall back, and holding his face in apparent pain. His gaze met that of Krystal, standing in front of the frozen form of Ultraman, her staff fully extended, and striking a pose, her ears back, lips curled back in a snarl. "Well, well, the bitch protecting her master," Babalu taunted, getting back to his feet. He struck his battle pose, and moved slightly closer to the vixen.

'Jim, are you all right?' Krystal asked through telepathy.

'I'll be fine, I just need to get out of here.'

'Maybe I can help,' she communicated, and spun to face Jim, and fired off three quick fireballs at Jim. The fireballs melted the ice, and Jim slumped. Krystal held the red and silver warrior, who felt chilled to the touch. 'It will be alright. Just rest for a bit.'

'But...Babalu...'

'Let me worry about him.' Krystal smiled, as she telepathically communicated to Jim. She then turned her focus on the invader, her smile gone, replaced by a snarl. both combatants circled eachother, while Jim watched, his strength was slowly returning. Babalu was right about Rygelius's atmosphere being like Earth's, but he was also right about Ultras using less energy when human sized. In fact, the solar energy he needs to sustain himself was slowly being restored to him. But, he was still helpless to help Krystal. Babalu laughed in pure amusement.

"This is hilarious. You honestly think an animal such as yourself has a chance against me?"

"I may be an animal, but you're a monster! You murder innocent lives without pity or remorse. You do it out of pure amusement!" Her grip on her staff just tightened. "I'll make sure that you'll never leave this planet alive!" Then, she rushed at the alien, bringing her staff down from above. Babalu blocked with his forearm blade, but was met with a kick to his ribs, making him stumble back, slightly. Although outmatched in terms of strength against the invader, Krystal had skill, and quickness on her side. And she was going to put them to good use. Not to mention, her staff had a few tricks of its own as well. Babalu faced Krystal, and was shot in the face by several fire-balls, making him fall back with a pained yell. He got back up, holding his face with a hand, growling in rage. Krystal twirled her staff above her head, struck a pose, and made a 'come hither' gesture. Babalu answered. He swung with his forearm blade, and Krystal countered each strike. Then, she was met with a kick to her midsection, doubling her over, and a back hand sent her sprawling to the ground. Jim tried to rise, but the energy he needed wasn't there yet, and fell to a knee, his warning light flashing steadily. 'Come on, come on!' he thought furiously. Krystal uneasily got back to her feet, and turned just in time to see Babalu charge his forearm blaster. Wasting no time, Krystal erected her forcefield in time to ward off the blasts. The shield faded, and Krystal breathed in deep, gathering her focus. Babalu charged, and Krystal rolled out of the way, and came up with an upward swing to the invader's face, making him stumble back. Then, she twirled, and struck him at least twice with both ends of her staff. However, Babalu didn't seem to be overly bothered by this. 'He's at least as strong as Wolf O'Donnell is. Time to switch tactics.' Krystal thought. She twirled her staff, and pointed the round end at Babalu, and fired more of the fireballs. Babalu blocked these with his forearms. Then, he brought up his forearm blaster, and fired at Krystal. The blue vixen rolled out of the way, and fired more fireballs. This time, at least three of them struck him in the face and chest. Babalu stumbled back, shouting in surprise and pain. Krystal smiled to herself, knowing that he was doing the invader some damage. He fell to a knee, holding the part of his chest where he was struck. "How does it feel, to be bested by an 'inferior animal?" Krystal taunted. Babalu growled in rage, and got back to his feet. He rushed at the vixen, and swung with his forearm blade, which Krystal blocked with her staff. Just then, Babalu caught the staff in his right hand. Krystal tried to pull it loose, but the grip was like iron. Then, he decked Krystal in the face. She stumbled, and fell backward. Babalu was holding the staff, which shrunk to its two foot long inactive form. Babalu tossed it away, like garbage. And made his way to Krystal. The vixen was uneasily getting back to her feet, when she was struck from behind, and fell to her hands and knees. then, a kick to her ribs sent her rolling away. When she opened her eyes, Babalu was standing over her. He reached down, and grabbed her by the throat. He lifted her up with one arm, with Krystal trying desperately not to black out. Babalu brought up his blaster, and aimed it at her skull, saying;

"If it's any consolation, at least you'll be meeting the rest of your furry little family soon," Krystal snarled in rage, and struggled against his grip. Then, just as the blaster was glowing a bright purple, a white saw blade shot out of nowhere and lanced itself across Babalu's right arm, forcing him to release Krystal, and yelling in pain, while holding his arm. Then with a loud "HIIYYAAAAHHHH!", Ultraman Jim landed a flying kick to Babalu's face, making him fall backward, and rolling away. Although his warning light was still flashing, Jim found the strength to stand once more, the sight of Krystal beleaguered being a powerful motivator. The vixen was coughing loudly, holding her hands to her throat.

"Krystal, are you okay?" Jim said, kneeling down, putting a hand to her back.

"Y-yes. I'll 'cough cough', I'll be fine." Jim then turned his gaze back to Babalu. He glowered at the alien, and struck his battle pose. Babalu also got back up, and struck his own battle pose.

"Babalu, that's enough! Return to base!"

"What? You must be joking!"

"I repeat, return to base! You have fulfilled your mission." Babalu growled in frustration at the radio signal. He turned to face Jim, saying

"Another time, another place. Take care of your precious little pet, she may have to be spayed." Krystal heard the comment, and snarled at the invader, just before he slammed his fists to the ground, and disappearing in a cloud of dust and smoke. Then, his voice was heard, "One last thing; the person behind all of this, is one you may have met or heard of before."

"'One I may have met or heard of before'? What's that mean?" Jim turned back to Krystal, who was already on her feet. "Are you sure you're fine?" he asked, concern in his distorted voice.

"I was going to ask you the same thing," she replied, a smile on her face. She walked over to where her staff lay, and picked it up, brushing the dust and dirt off. Jim looked at it, then her. "Is there something wrong?" she asked, puzzled.

"I just never thought of you capable of handling yourself like that." She blushed a little bit, and Jim slightly chuckled. Just then, Krystal's communicator beeped. Jim looked down, as did Krystal. She brought it up to her face and said

"This is Krystal."

"Both of you, report back to Great Fox, now!" Fox's voice sounded over the communicator in an angry tone. The pair looked at eachother, Krystal with a concerned look, while Jim's was covered by his mask-like visage. After Krystal got close enough to him, Jim pulled his teleportation technique, back to Great Fox.

"Excellent. We are now ready, for phase two of my little operation." The figure was sitting behind the desk, not moving from his recliner, his face hidden behind a large pair of shades. Babalu and Clara were standing in front of the desk, Clara wearing a large grin, while Babalu's was a blank, due to his mask-like visage.

"Soon, we will separate the Ultra from his team, and then we will have him." The figure laughed heartily at this.

In Fox's office, both Krystal and Jim were standing in front of the desk, while the vulpine sat behind it. "Again, you put your teammate at risk! Do you enjoy this? Do you like watching your friends suffer?"

"You know I don't, Fox, and I consider it an insult that you would even ask me such a thing!" Jim growled. He had his fists clenched, and he gritted his teeth.

"I know what happened on Rygelius, through the personal receiver on Krystal's communicator. I saw how you were disabled by Babalu, and put Krystal in danger, again! From now on, you two are to be separated! if you come within two feet of eachother, I will know, and you will both regret it!"

"How dare you!" Krystal shouted. She leaned on Fox's desk. "What makes you think that you can do that? I can see him if I want to-"

"Not anymore! Every time you two are together, you come close to death! Well, I'm putting a stop to that!" He turned to Jim, saying "Hand it to me."

"Excuse me?" Jim asked, fearing what it is that Fox is asking.

"Your Brace. Give it to me."

"GO SCREW YOURSELF, HAIRBALL!" Jim shouted. "If you think that I'll hand you my Brace, then your more than just delusional, your certifiably CRAZY!"

"I will not ask again." Fox threatened.

"I have a better idea; how's about you pull your head out of your furry little ass first! If you take away my means of transforming now, the next opponent out there will rip you to shreds!"

"I'll take my chances."

"Fox, you cannot be serious! How can you even begin to ask that of Jim?"

"Since he put your life in danger, _twice_!" Fox glared at the blue vixen. He turned back to Jim, who took a step back. Fox got up, and made his way to the human, his face determined.

"I won't ask again." Fox revealed his blaster.

"Go to hell, Fox." At that moment, Fox drew his blaster, and Jim placed the Brace over his heart, where it flashed, and remained glowing, while Fox's blaster was charging, turning from green, to blue, to red, and Jim placed his left hand, and held it there, both waiting for the other to make a move.

"Fox, Jim, stop this now!"

"Stay out of this, Krystal. He's out of control. Look at him!" Fox shouted. "He's no better than the monsters he fights!" Jim felt the sting from that comment, and his brace faltered slightly, but quickly recovered.

"Fox, you..."

"No!" Krystal got in between Fox and Jim, with her facing the human.

"Jim, please..." He could see the plea on her face. He turned from Krystal to Fox. Now, she had tears running down. Finally, he gave in. With a broken heart, Jim lowered his Brace and slumped. Fox lowered his blaster, and moved to Jim. He held out his hand expectantly. Without looking at him, Jim removed his Braced and handed it to the orange vulpine. Jim felt close to tears, at being betrayed by his friend and leader. Krystal reached out a hand to him, but he pushed it away, and ran out of the door. Krystal turned an angry glare at Fox, and followed after the human. Fox sat down in his chair, placed his hand to his tired head, and asked "Did I do the right thing?"

In his room, Jim was sitting at the edge of his bed, tears falling. 'Why? Why did this happen?' he thinks. He didn't hear the door open, but he did feel the familiar presence. Krystal sat next to him, and wrapped her arms around him. He turned to face the vixen, tears staining his eyes. Krystal felt for him, and wiped them away. "How? How did all of this happen? When did everything get so damned twisted?"

"I don't know. I don't know why Fox did that to you." Jim buried his face in her shoulder, feeling the anguish of betrayal. Krystal held him, and tried to soothe him.

"He said, that it may have been someone I met, or heard of,"

"What?" Jim pulled away, and looked at Krystal.

"Babalu said, that the person behind this, is someone I met, or heard of. I need to know, just what it was, that he meant."

"Do you know where to start?" Krystal asked.

"No, I don't." Jim felt hopelessness creep in. Krystal lifted his spirits a bit.

"Well, I do."

"Please, tell me. It would mean so much to me, right now."

"The Krazoa. We need to head for thier planet. They may know where the source of where this evil is coming from."

"Are you certain?"

"They are the oldest beings in the universe. If anyone knows who it is that we are dealing with, it is them."

"Then, I guess that we are headed for Sauria." Krystal nodded.

"Jim, will you be able to transform, without your brace?" Jim looked at his right arm, then his open hand, which he clenched into a fist. He turned back to Krystal saying

"I'll find a way," while smirking. Krystal smiled. A few minutes later, two arwings were making a b-line for Sauria.


	15. Hero of Sauria

Chapter 15

Hero of Sauria

He saw it; Sauria. The blue and green planet, with its multiple climates, reminded him so much of Earth. Jim saw it, and stared.

'So much like...I can't believe it.'

"Feeling nostalgic?" Krystal asked.

"No. Just, homesick I guess." The blue vixen couldn't blame him. When she saw Earth, almost a year ago, she was struck by its beauty. Wanting a closer look, She flew her arwing too close, and got caught in its gravitational pull. That's when she met Jim. The human was feeling sadness well up for the first time in months, since he lost his blue world. Then, both arwings descended to the surface.

They landed in a clearing. Both arwings touched down in a hollow-like area, with a temple-like structure nearby, with a well next to it, and a hill a few meters from it. Krystal leapt from her arwing, and Jim saw her surrounded by several of the planet's inhabitants.

'I don't believe it. Actual dinosaurs!' Indeed, several of the 'Thorntail' stegosaurs were gathering around Krystal. When Jim got out of the arwing, the group turned to face him, with Krystal smiling broadly. The group made thier way to the human, who had a shocked/puzzled look on his face. Krystal went beside him, still smiling.

"Kxaj aj m0 vhaodt, Jim. Xo aj ed zeihdo0 ke kxo Krazoa Spirits ke joob kxaoh wiatudso." Jim gave her a puzzled look, not understanding a word she said. The dinos, however, nodded thier heads, as if in agreement. One of them replied

"No nacc ujb King Tricky ke jxen 0ei kxo nu0. Av xo aj fiho ev xouhk, kxo Krazoa Spirits jxeict whudk xam ud uitoadso." They turned away, and plodded off into another direction.

"What was that?" Jim asked, turning to Krystal. The blue vixen smiled, saying

"They're going to ask a friend of mine to show us the way." Just then, a ceratopsian with a small nose-horn, and small horns showing on the top of his head came running, shouting "KRYYYYSSSTAAAALLLLLL!" Jim shoved her out of the way, just before the Saurian landed on top of him.

"Krystal! It xuj rood uwoj, jadso A'lo jood 0u!"

"Edc0 cakkco eloh u 0ouh, Tricky," Krystal replied. Then, Jim heard licking sounds, and Krystal giggling like a child.

"Someone, get me OUTTA HERE!" Jim shouted.

"Nxe nuj kxuk?"

"Ak'j-" Tricky got up off of him, and Jim started to breathe normally. He looked into the face of the young ceratopsian, who had a look of wonder on his face.

"Nxe Uho 0ei?" Jim stared at him, not knowing what to say.

"He asked who it was that you were." Krystal said.

"Jim," the human replied. The ceratopsian started to blab away in its native language.

"Enough!" Jim shouted. This made the ceratopsian take a step back, and surprised Krystal. Jim then got up, and placed a hand on the head of the ceratopsian. He downloaded the necessary information, and said

"Now say something."

"Whoa, what was that? Hey, I can understand you!"

"That's because I downloaded the information from your brain. Saurian is now practically a second language, to me. Well, almost, anyway."

"I heard that, you are looking for the Krazoa Spirits."

"Yes. I need to seek an audience with them. There is something of vital importance, that I must know."

"Well, they just won't see anyone, you know. You have to be pure of heart, and so far, all I've seen is pure grumpiness." Krystal laughed at this, and Jim shot her a look. Tricky motioned for them to follow him, and they followed the young ruler. They entered the temple, and saw that it was lavishly decorated, with carvings and items strewn around various places. Tricky led them into what looked like a living area, and told them to wait here. Krystal sat down on one of the large throw-pillows, and Jim did like-wise. Then, Tricky appeared, followed by a pterosaur.

"I have arrived, by request of the Spirits. They have told me that someone wishes to seek them out, and find the truth." the pterosaur said. Tricky kept his distance from the pterosaur, as if he were almost afraid of it. Jim got up, and walked to the pterosaur.

"I am that person. Please, I need to speak with them. I must find the reason why Kaiju and Seijin are appearing in the Lylat system." The Pterosaur nodded deeply, as if understanding, and motioned for both him, and Krystal to follow it. It led them up a flight of stairs, and onto a balcony. It motioned for them to get on it, and Jim got on first, followed by Krystal holding onto him by the waist. Then, the pterosaur issued a shriek, and was flying into the sky. Jim was used to this, having flown hundreds of times in his Ultra form, while Krystal held onto him tightly, her head against his back. Jim looked behind him, and saw Krystal looking at him. She smiled at him, and Jim nodded in acknowledgement. The weather changed abruptly, going from sunny and clear, to stormy and dark. Then, they saw it; the Krazoa Palace, a stronghold hidden inside a storm. The pterosaur landed upon a perch, directly in front of the Palace entrance.

"From here on, you two are on your own. No one else, save for eachother, may aide you." With that, the pterosaur beat its wings, and took off. Both human and Cerinian entered the temple. They entered a large chamber, with carvings cut into the wall, and symbols in a language that Jim deciphered to be Saurian. He followed the blue vixen, and asked

"Are you really able to channel the Krazoa Spirits, like in... you know."

"Yes. Although Fox has been able to as well, I've always had a special bond with them. Also, I can feel them calling to me. If you focus, then you can feel them as well." They went through a hallway, leading to a large door, when he felt a sensation in the back of his skull. It was like his 'warning sense', but not exactly a warning. More like 'A signal,' Jim thought.

"You feel them as well."

"Is that what it is? Is it just me, reacting to the Spirits?" Then, the large door opened, revealing another immense room. Both walked in, and stood on the glowing white platform in front of them. Instantaneously, both human and Cerinian were transported to a different location. Directly in front of them, mounted on a wall, was a large statue of a face with a passive expression, and elongated chin. Jim knew that this was a depiction of a Krazoa Spirit, and then, the sensation stopped, abruptly. Jim looked around, this way and that, expecting for something to happen. Krystal merely walked forward to the statue, and placed her hands together, as if in prayer.

"Krazoa Spirits, we humbly seek your audience. Our world is in peril, and we need to know the identity of the malevolence. Please, if you know what it is that assaults us, tell us." Nothing happened. For tense long moments, not a thing stirred. Then, They both heard it; a type of chittering sound, followed by whispering voices that seemed to emanate from everywhere. Jim whirled, trying to see where the sounds were coming from, but could not locate thier source. Krystal, however, merely kept her pose, her head down, eyes closed. After a moment, she turned to face a puzzled Jim, and smiled at him.

"Krystal, what's-" Jim began, but was cut off when a blue, floating head wafted past him. His gaze followed it up to the ceiling, where five others like it were wafting around, the chittering and whispering coming from them.

"They're...Krazoa Spirits..."

"And, they have been expecting us." Jim turned to Krystal, who looked up, with a smile played across her blue/white face. Then, while closing her eyes and never losing her smile, she opened her arms, as if to receive something. Just then, the Krazoa Spirits flew into her, one by one. Jim ran over to her, asking

"What the hell is going on here?"

"Don't be afraid, Jim," Krystal said. She opened her eyes, and they were glowing a shade of purple.

"The Krazoas are merely using my body as a medium."

"For what?"

"For this." Three Krazoa Spirits flew out of her, and into the human. He felt a sensation of something forcing its way into his body, and it wasn't really pleasant. Jim held his midsection in pain, before succumbing to a white light.

"Where could they be?" Fox asked to himself. He had the team look for the human and Cerinian for several hours now, searching from stem to stern, with no luck. He sat in the chair in his office, his head on his hand. He was looking at the Spacium Brace that he had taken from the human. He still wondered if what he was doing was the right thing. Fox has always worried about Jim letting his power get to his head, and now, it seems like it is finally happening. He doesn't care what he says, anyone who places his own teammates, even his own family members, in danger, just to show off, deserves to die. He looked over at a photo of him and Fara, with Cody in between them, wearing a big smile. Fox looked at it, and smiled himself. He remembered the time when the photo was taken; It was Cody's sixth birthday, and, like he wanted, it was just him, Fox, and Fara. They went to Zoness for a few days, and had a wonderful time there. The photo was evident. It was also there, that Fox and Fara's feelings for eachother were revealed, albeit unintentionally. When Cody saw then kiss for the first time, he made that same face, as he always did for the past four years. That same look of disgust never fails to make him laugh. However, he did not laugh. He smiled, but did not laugh. He wondered, if what it was that he did was the right thing.

He was floating in the void. Only, it wasn't scarlet this time, but a brilliant cerulean blue. He looked around, hoping to see someone or something. He looked down at himself, and saw his body devoid of clothing. Surprised, he tried to move, but found his body frozen in place. He looked up, and saw a speck moving towards him. The speck swelled into a definite shape; it was humanoid, that much he knew, with the shoulders, midsection, and legs apparent. As it got closer, he could make out curves that are normally found on females, a tail, and pointed ears on top. Just then, Krystal was floating in front of him, also nude. He looked away, trying not to look at her form. She was grinning broadly.

"I can see you, you know,"

"Don't remind me!" he nearly shouted. The blue vixen laughed at this, finding his blushing face adorable. Just then, they both heard a chittering sound, and a Krazoa, with a robed body underneath the head, appeared before them.

"Warrior of Light, I see that our request has been answered."

"'Request'? What request? I have a request of my own that I would like very much to make."

"You are wondering what it was that really destroyed Earth. You are wondering, what the name is of the evil that you are destined to combat against."

"Err- ye-yes. I was told that, the evil was someone that I may have met, or heard about."

"The evil force, is one that is strange to us."

"What do you mean by 'strange'?"

"We have been here since the birth of this universe, acting as keepers of its order, and maintainers of its balance. However, an unknown evil, unknown even to us, has penetrated our space, and threatens all. Unable to fully understand our enemy, we have sent out a call, to your Land of Light."

"You mean, the Space Garrison!"

"The legends have reached, even here. Stories of how the mighty warriors of light have vanquished all known evil in thier part of space, and have kept the peace there. We needed thier help, and they have sent one of thier own to aide us."

"So, that is what my mission was. Commander Zoffy said that, I would understand my mission, once I returned to the Lylat system..."

"Yes. You have been selected, to protect the galaxy from this dark force. Even now, its influence is felt here, as I am sure that you are aware." Images of the kaiju and seijin that Jim had defeated already were flashing behind the Krazoa.

"But, what is the name of the force that is sending them. What is it, that we are fighting?"

"We know it, simply as 'Gorzul'.

"'Gorzul'?"

"Yes. That is the name that it has decided for itself. It will devour everything in the system, and enslave its inhabitants. The people of this system, will be made to suffer for all of time."

"I will not let that happen!"

"_We_ will not let that happen!" Jim looked over at Krystal, who nodded at him, her face serious. Jim nodded back, and turned his gaze back to the Krazoa.

"Indeed. With the help of your friends, you are sure to turn the tide of shadow, especially with the help of the one whom you hold the closest." Jim looked over at Krystal, who smiled openly. Jim smiled sheepishly, and looked away, embarrassed.

"Now, is the time for you to return."

"One last thing."

"What is it?"

"Are there any more humans in this universe? I was told, that there might be more, but..." "I am sorry, but yours was a unique race. It will be sorely missed, for there will be none like it, anywhere else in the universe." "I see." Jim looked downtrodden. All this time, he had wondered, and held hope, but it was confirmed; there are no other humans left in the universe. Krystal felt sympathy for the human.

"Farewell, Warrior of Light. Please watch over him, Spirit Wielder."

"I will," Krystal responded. There was a brilliant flash of light, and Jim found himself standing in front of the entrance to the Krazoa Palace. The feeling of emptiness had returned in full force. The sensation that he had hoped would be forgotten, had returned with a vengeance. Jim felt fur-covered arms wrap themselves around his shoulders, and a canine-shaped head rest on his left shoulder. He placed his hands on the arms, and held Krystal close to him. Both felt the sadness and loneliness creep up, but was suppressed when Jim felt Krystal's head rest against his.

Back in Thorntail Hollow, the pair were allowed to spend the night in King Tricky's temple. they were given a large room, with a large bed in the center, and a couple of doors leading to different rooms.

"Why did he have us bunk together?" Jim asked, fearing the answer. Krystal smiled, saying "He thinks that we are a couple."

"Even though he sees that we are totally different from eachother?" She laughed, saying

"Well, you can't really blame him. After all, he saw that you were a boy, and figured the rest out for himself."

"So, does that mean that you really do see me that way?" Krystal leaned in close to Jim's ear, still smiling, and whispered

"You wish." Krystal walked away, the smile almost permanent.

"You know, Fox said that you weren't very good at breaking hearts." he called after her as she entered one of the rooms. Jim plopped down on the bed, and stared at the cieling.

'So, that's what my mission is. Ironic, since I still don't even know how I got this power to begin with.' Jim lifted the arm that bore his Spacium Brace, before Fox confiscated it, and heard Fox's words once more, 'He's no better than the monsters he fights!' Jim was saddened by this, and felt tears drop from his eyes, and onto the bed.

'Is that true, Fox? Am I really nothing more than a monster to you?' He turned over, and closed his eyes, trying to blot out the voice, but found it difficult.

Krystal was in the dressing room, changing out of her flight suit, and into the outfit that Tricky had saved for her; the same outfit that she had worn when she first visited the system. As she was placing the arm braces on, she looked out of the window, and saw a glorious sunset. It reminded her of the sunsets back on Corneria, and also, albeit more painfully, on Cerinia.

"Jim, come here. You have to see this!" She waited for a reply, but got none.

"Jim?" She looked back, and saw nothing move. She came into the bedroom, and saw Jim lying on his side, almost as if he were asleep. But she knew that it wasn't sleep that he was into, but sadness. She sat next to him, an placed her hand on his shoulder.

"Are you okay?"

"I just want to be alone."

"Jim, you can talk to me. I'm your friend."

"I know. But, I don't think that you can help me this time."

"And, why not?"

"Because, it's something that's personal to me."

"It's about what Fox said, isn't it. About, you being no better than the monsters you have fought." He said nothing, only lying there.

"Your silence proves me right."

"So what if it does? Fox is right. I am a monster. It takes one, to fight a monster, right?"

"Look at me." He made no effort to do so.

"Jim, look at me." she said more sternly. Jim rolled over, and saw the seriousness in the vixen's face.

"Jim, you are no monster. Would a monster save Cody and his friends from Babalu? Or save Tasha and her father from Shaplay, or save me and the others from the Spyborg on Great Fox?" Jim sat up.

"Would a monster save me from Wolf O'Donnell, when he tried to ravage me while you watched?" Jim looked away, not able to look her in the eye. Krystal took his face in both hands, and brought it to meet hers.

"You are far different from those creatures that you have defeated. Far different. Fox is just intimidated by you, that's all." "But why? I'm fighting on his side, why does he feel so threatened by me?"

"It's because he's afraid that you'll use your power against us." Jim stared at her.

'Is he still on about that? I thought I told him, and so did Krystal, that I wouldn't use my power like that. Have I not saved him and the team before from certain death? Have I not protected innocent lives, when they were threatened? What more could he possibly want?' The thought almost caught the blue vixen off guard, but she recovered. Jim felt the emotional jolt from her, and felt sorry about it. He tried to turn away, but Krystal held his head. Then, she leaned in, and placed a kiss on his mouth. She pulled away after a moment, and saw the surprise on his face. She smiled, and said

"You are no monster. A monster would not feel about me, and the others, as you do." Jim was touched by this, and rested his head on her shoulder.

"I don't deserve to know you," he said quietly.

"Yes, you do." She replied, stroking his hair, gently. Jim brought up the arm that held his Brace, and clenched his fist. Krystal felt the bitter emotions from him, and took his arm in both hands after pulling away from him. She placed a hand on the spot where the Brace was, and held it there. Jim looked at her, and she smiled, looking at his arm. She looked up, saying

"You will find a way to summon your power again. You do not need the Brace."

"And how do you know?" he asked.

"Because, I have faith. When all others lose faith in you, I will not." Jim looked at her, and tried to smile. Then, he embraced her, and she returned it.

"Thank you, for being here with me."

"You are my friend. I'd never let you keep hurting like this." She held him for a moment longer, then perked up, as if remembering something.

"Oh, I nearly forgot! There's this sunset that you have to see!"

"A sunset?" Krystal practically dragged him from the bed, and led him through another door, this one leading to a balcony overlooking the hollow, and the jungle as the sun was falling behind it. Jim was reminded himself of the sunsets back on Earth. The major difference, was that a blue furred vixen was standing next to him, thier bodies touching. Jim placed an arm across her shoulders, and Krystal held the hand, as both of them looked on. Then, Jim realized that, if everyone loses thier faith in him, there would be that one flickering flame, acting as a guide through the darkness. And right now, that flame felt that she would not want to be anywhere else, than right here with him for the time being.

In the dining chamber, Tricky and his family, consisting of his mate, parents, in-laws, and younger relations, were conversing with one another. Even Krystal got involved, telling them about her own adventures with Star Fox, particularly with the Aparoid Invasion. Then, Tricky said something that made him choke on his wine;

"Krystal said that a red and silver giant has appeared several times. And that you know something about him." After he was done hacking, he shot a glare at Krystal, who gave an innocently sweet smile.

"Well, I have heard about him on my home planet," Jim then explained the Ultra as best he could. The adults listened to him, intently, while the children looked up at him, wide-eyed in wonder.

"And, he appeared on your homeworld before it was destroyed..."

"That is correct. He couldn't protect it, since he was recuperating on his own world, after being mortally wounded by an especially strong opponent."

"But, he followed you here, and now protects the Lylat system."

"Exactly."

"Will we see him?" one of the hatchlings asked, excitedly. Jim looked down, and smiled saying

"Probably. He only appears in times of a great crisis, when others are unable to defend themselves."

"Do you have the power to call upon him?" One of Tricky's parents asked.

"...yes, I do. And because of that, I have been...feared, somewhat."

"'Feared'? Why is that?" Tricky's mother asked. Jim looked at Krystal, who turned away, not knowing quite how to answer that. Jim took a deep breath, and said

"Because there are those who believe that he is no better than the monsters that he has defeated. And the fact that I am able to summon him, makes people believe that I will use him as some sort of weapon."

"Really?" One of the other hatchlings asked.

"I am afraid so. And because of that, Fox took away my means of summoning him."

"Fox did what?" Tricky gaped. Jim knew of Tricky's relationship with Fox, and hearing this did not sit well with him.

"It's true, Tricky. Fox took away his Brace, which Jim uses to summon him."

"Well...I'm sure that he had a good reason to. I'm sure that Fox wouldn't just take it from him, just to be a bully." Jim remembered Fox's words, and the pain that followed.

'Don't think on that. Not now, not in front of friends.' Krystal's thought penetrated Jim's brain. He looked up, and saw the vixen smile at him. He returned it, as best he could.

On Sauria, a sleeping giant stirs, and awakens, its eyes glowing unholy. It awakened in the same chamber where it was defeated long ago, by a certain orange, furry thing. Then, its instincts told it to leave the room. A hatch opened in the cieling, and using its insect-like legs, it scaled the wall, and into the tunnel. The hatch closed forever, throwing the chamber into eternal darkness.

He could feel it. As he stood out on the balcony, Jim could feel the 'warning signal' in the back of his head kick into over-drive. He scanned the trees, but in the dead of night, with only the torches and moonlight the only source of light, it proved to be somewhat difficult. Krystal stepped out to join him, and felt what it was that he was feeling. "What is it?" she asked, also looking out into the jungle. "I don't know, something." Then, they both heard it; It was a loud rumbling sound, as something moved underground. Just then, a reptilian head burst from the ground, with a frill around its neck, and baring its sharp fangs and teeth. The head was at least ten feet long, but the rest of the body was even larger, as it heaved itself out of the ground; standing at least seventy feet tall, the creature had long arms, that ended in three-digit claws, four, insect-like legs, and a thorax, while its upper body and head, save for the frill, were clearly reptilian. It's as if it was some terrible hybrid of both insect, and dinosaur. Jim recognized the creature as Galdon, the same one that Fox and Tricky defeated before, two years ago. The creature roared at the temple, and moved towards it. The guards, and Earthwalker army were mobilized, but were helpless before this new threat. Acting on reflex, Jim brought his arm to his heart, but when he looked down after he didn't hear the flash, he remembered. He looked at Krystal, who merely looked at him. He nodded, and grabbed his blaster and nine-mil, followed by Krystal wielding her staff.

The defenders were in trouble; Nothing they had could slow Galdon down. The Earthwalker Army tried using thier brute strength, to try to puncture the monster's exoskeleton with thier horns. However, they could not dent the hard outer shell of its legs, and were swatted away by Galdon's long arms in annoyance. The guards brought out catapults, loaded with burning ammunition, and launched them at the creature. They exploded against Galdon's hard exoskeleton, but it did seem to feel them. It looked down at the guards and catapults, and shot its own energy blasts from its open maw. The catapults were reduced to ashes in moments, while the guards were sent in retreat to the temple. The Thorntail in the hollow took refuge wherever they could, but Galdon had not eaten in a long while. It picked up two of the dinosaurs, and placed half of one in its mouth, and bit it in half. It gulped the bottom half down, and gobbled the other. Krystal and Jim were standing in front of the temple, watching the display. Krystal felt a burning rage from the bottom of her heart well up, and her body was trembling from it. Jim also felt anger, but more so from the fact that he is unable to transform in a crisis like this. All of a sudden, he heard a war-cry, and saw Krystal rush at Galdon.

KRYSTAL!" Jim ran after her, and saw her fire her fire-balls at point-blank range at Galdon. The blasts only seemed to annoy it, and it raised a fist above Krystal. She froze when she saw the raised appendage suddenly drop. Something slammed into her from behind, moving her out of the way, just a split-second before the fist slammed onto the ground. She got to her feet, and saw an angry Jim grab her shoulders, shouting

Have you lost your freakin' MIND? Do you want to get yourself killed?"

"I-I-" she couldn't get it out, the image of the helpless Thorntail getting eaten in two bites was still fresh in her mind. Jim felt this from thier rapport, and shook her.

"Snap out of it! I need you focused!" She looked at the human, and saw a tear going down his face.

"You can't help these people like that. You need to calm yourself, and not charge in, staff blazing. If I had lost you like that, I-I couldn't..." He couldn't find the words, and looked down. Krystal saw tears running, and lifted his head. A roar broke the moment, and both saw Galdon lose interest in them, and move towards the temple. The pair ran after it, and managed to cut it off. Jim fired his blaster at it, the green bolts glancing off of its exoskeleton, while Krystal let loose with more of her staff's fire-balls, equally as ineffective. However, they did seem to get the creature's attention, as it was suddenly bearing down on them. It raised both of its arms, and threatened to bring them crashing down on the pair. Both of them rolled out of the way, and hid behind various pieces of rubble.

'Does this thing have any vulnerable spots?' Jim thought to himself.

'There should be a weak spot on his chest. Look for something, like a crack in his armor.' Jim caught Krystal's thought, and looked over to where she was. She had her back against a boulder, looking at him. He nodded at her, and turned his gaze back at Galdon. Though he may not be able to convert to his Ultra-form, his abilities still remained. With his enhanced vision, he was able to see the slight crack along its chest.

'Krystal, you see what I see?' Krystal caught the communicated thought, and followed his gaze. She saw it as well.

'Yes, I do.'

'Alright, here's what we will do; One of us will serve as a distraction for the thing, while the other sees to making that crack a bit bigger.'

'Right. I'll see if I can't get him to chase me.'

'Forget it. My idea, my suicide mission!'

'What?' At that time, Jim ran out from his cover, and started firing at Galdon. The shots were not causing any real damage, but it did take notice of the human. It started to chase after him, while he ran from it.

'I need to look into a new career,' Jim thinks to himself, as he runs from the maddened beast.

'Jim, I need a clear shot!'

'You need a target, you got it!' Jim backtracked, narrowly missing the jaws, and ran under Galdon. The creature whirled, and started after the human again. Krystal was perched atop of the boulder she was hiding behind, her staff's round end pointing outwards. Her own keen eyesight saw Jim bolting away from a roaring Galdon, then she saw the crack in its chest armor. She let loose several blasts from her staff, each striking home. Galdon reared back from the assault, its primitive brain remembering the pain it felt, so long ago. It clutched its chest, and focused its glare at the blue-furred thing atop a boulder. Krystal felt what was going through its mind; remembrance, and anger. It let loose a thunderous roar, and bore down on Krystal. 'Oh, no...' Jim thought when he saw the thing change course. He looked down at his bare arm, and clenched his fist.

'Come on, come on!' he thinks furiously.

'I need that power!' Jim looked up, and saw Krystal jump from the boulder she was on, just as Galdon smashed it with one of his fists. The vixen landed, and was running from Galdon. She saw the beast rear its head back, and spew forth its emerald blast. It struck near her, sending her flying several feet. Jim looked on in horror, and saw her crash to the ground. Krystal stumbled to her feet, and turned to face the monster. It was standing over her, snarling. She tried to run, but was snatched up in one of its claws.

"NOOOO!" Jim shouts. As Galdon brought its claw closer to its maw, Krystal's last thoughts were 'Jim...' She reached out a hand to the human. Jim ran for her, his heart pumping. Then, he felt it; the same as on Titania, when Krystal was endangered. He brought his arms together, meeting at the wrists, and shouted "GAAAIIIIYYYOOOOOO!", allowing the power to fill up his entire being, just as it did then. When Krystal saw the human running at them, she saw his form glow a bright scarlet, and turn into a blazing ball of light. Then, it flew at them, swelled, and the light intensified a thousand fold with a humanoid shape barely visible in the glare. Galdon shielded its eyes from the brilliant glare with its free hand, and saw an arm swing down upon its claw. There was a searing pain in its wrist, and it let the blue-furred thing go.

Krystal felt the sensation of falling, then immediately being caught in a giant hand. When the glow subsided, she looked around herself, and then up. What she saw, made her beam; The visage was that of an Ultra. Its red patterns were different from Jim's, and the eyes were shining blue, not yellow. 'Is it the same as Titania?' She wondered. Then, she had a flashback, to when Jim transformed for the first time, and saw that the red and silver pattering were exactly the same as back then. That's when the thought occurred; 'Am I responsible for him transforming to this form?' He set her down on the ground, and she ran for cover. After ducking into the temple's entrance, she saw the new Jim face Galdon. Galdon roared at Jim, and swung its claws in a threatening manner, an attempt to scare the new entity away. It didn't work. What Jim was feeling now, was a need to defeat the monster, before it hurts anyone else. He got into his combat stance, and both of them circled eachother. Then, Jim struck first; he lunged at Galdon, and landed a solid punch to its face, making it stumble back. Jim planted another fist to its face, and then a spin-kick made it fall to the ground. Galdon got back up, and roared at Jim, firing its emerald blasts at the red and silver warrior. Jim brought his arms up to gaurd against the attack. the balls struck against the muscular arms, but did no real damage. Jim lowered his arms, and Galdon roared its displeasure. Galdon charged. It slammed into Jim, and both giants grappled with eachother. Then, Galdon raised one of its claws, and was about to bring it down on Jim, who caught it before it touched him. Then, Jim executed a karate chop to the appendage, severing the hand from the arm at the wrist. Galdon shrieked in pain, holding its stump. Then, Jim leapt up, did an aerial axle, and landed behind Galdon. Before Galdon could react, Jim grabbed Galdon from behind, and hoisted the monster clean over his head. He then threw it away from the temple, and sent it crashing into the jungle. Galdon uneasily got back to its feet, and shuffled towards Jim. Jim then did a gesture; He brought his right arm in front of the glowing blue warning light, with the arm bent upwards at the elbow, and the hand sticking up, fingers outstretched. His left arm was sticking straight out from the left side, hand also outstretched, fingers extended. Just then, light seemed to gather around his warning light, and enter his right hand. After a moment of this, Jim brought his left arm to meet the right, with the left in front of the right, plus-shaped. A blue/white beam issued forth from the edge from the hand, and struck Galdon against the chest. After a moment, Jim issued a shout, his voice deeper than before, and the beam now issued forth from his forearms as well, making the beam cross-shaped itself. When the beam struck Galdon, it left a cross-shaped mark on its chest, and the beam erupted from behind it. When the beam finally did die, Galdon stood there, arms limp, with a gaping, cross-shaped hole in its chest, going through the body, and coming out the other end. Jims kept his pose. When Galdon finally fell forward with a crash did Jim stand back up. Galdon's corpse exploded into millions of flaming pieces, and Jim nodded in satisfaction. He heard a commotion from behind him, and saw, not only the Earthwalker army and temple guards, but other dinos as well in a large group, giving a loud cheer. Jim looked at them, and felt from them, what he did not feel from the people on Corneria; thankfulness. He had saved the people of Corneria several times, but saving the dinosaurs once got him more praise than he received from those on Corneria. He looked around, and saw Krystal among them, smiling openly at him. Tricky was beside her. "So, that's it! He was the silver giant this whole time!" "Yes, Tricky, he is. He's our...Ultraman." Jim's form was glowing a bright scarlet, and then he turned into a ball of red light once more. He floated in front of the group, who stood back. When the ball landed in front of them, Jim was still in his new Ultra form, but was human-sized now. He was kneeling when the glow subsided, and he stood back up. The warning light on his chest was still a shining blue, as was his eyes. Krystal made her way forward, and stood in front of Jim. In this form, she stood at his shoulder level. He looked down at her smiling face, and Krystal could feel he was beaming inside as well. "I told you, that you did not need the Brace."

"Yes, you did." Jim replied, in a distorted voice. He placed a silver hand to the side of her face, and Krystal held it there, feeling its warmth.

"He has passed your test, master." one of the Krazoa Spirits said, to a hooded figure. They were inside the same blue void, that Jim and Krystal were in when they conversed with the Krazoa Spirits. All six of the Spirits were floating around a cloaked figure, who chuckled knowingly.

"I know. He truly is the one with the might of the sun."

"And what of the girl? Are they the ones that the prophecy foretold of, master?" another of the Krazoa Spirits asked.

"Perhaps. Her own power has yet to fully awaken. Only when the boy brings it out, just as she did with him, will they be able to turn back the shadow of evil that now threatens our universe. Only when they have accepted eachother for who and what they truly are, will they be able to triumph." The hooded figure smiled slightly, while watching the shimmering image of Jim in his Ultra form and Krystal sharing a tender moment with eachother, while the dinosaurs gathered around them.

Later that night, as both of them were in the same bed together, Krystal was, once again, cuddled up in her sleep next to Jim. He looked down at the blue-furred form, as she was wearing a contented look upon her face. Jim had his MP3 with him, and Krystal had one of the ear-buds in, listening to the song 'Don't stop Believing' by Journey. It became one of her personal favorites that the human had. He looked down at her, and smiled to himself.

'Well, at least we have a name to the perpetrator. Now all we have to do is find out who or what this 'Gorzul' is.' Krystal snuggled closer, and Jim placed the other ear-bud into his own ear, and allowed sleep to take hold.


	16. Truths Revealed, pt1

Chapter 8

Truths Revealed pt. 1

When Aaron first opened his eyes, the first thing he saw was dawn, creeping into the bedroom. He looked around, and saw the toys and dolls strewn around various parts of the room, and remembered where he was. He sat up in his sleeping mat, and looked over into the hammock, where a curled form lied, slightly stirring. He got up from the mat, and exited the room. After nearly stumbling through the dark, and making his way outside, he went to the spot where his sensei told him to go. After making his way through the woods to a clearing, he saw his teacher standing in the center, with a grin on his face.

"So, Aaron, are you ready to start training?"

"What kind of training?" The Japanese descent smiled, and looked up into the sky.

"It has been so long, hasn't it, my young friend." Aaron gave him a quizzical look.

"I know that I may be speaking to you in riddles, but what I am about to tell you, may seem...unbelievable."

"Ho-how do you mean?"

"I mean, that you are not an entirely ordinary boy."

"What?"

"You are familiar with Ultraman, yes?" Aaron nodded his head.

"Then, what you are about to see, may surprise you." The Japanese descent took a step back, and pulled a device from his jacket. It was a red and silver stick-like object, at least a foot long. Jim saw it, and recognized it, instantly.

"Sensei, are...you-" Before he could finish, his teacher punched first with his right arm, then left, both in rapid succession and the arms straight out. Then, he raised his right hand up into the air, with his left hand over his heart, clenched into a fist. It was then, that he shouted "EIGHTY!", and a brilliant flash emanated from the device in his right hand. Aaron shielded his eyes from the glare, and when the light subsided, what he saw made his jaw drop; standing before him, was the legendary Ultraman 80, Teacher from the Land of Light.

"You know who it is that I really am, don't you?" Aaron barely nodded. The Ultra was human-sized, standing around six feet tall. He was mostly silver, with the red acting as a covering for the silver. His warning light was shining turquoise, and the belt-less buckle, just underneath his abdomen, was reflecting the rays of the morning sun. The shining yellow eyes were gazing down at him, as if peering into his soul.

"But, do you know who it is, that you are?"

"Uhmmm...no?" Aaron asked, unsure. 80 chuckled at this, and said

"That is fine. All will become clear, in time." After a swirl of light enveloped his figure, 80 reverted back to his human guise, of Yamato Takeshi.

"Does that mean that...I'm..."

"Yes, it does. Although your power has yet to fully awaken itself in your body, you do possess the abilities of the Ultras."

"So when do I get to transform?" Aaron asked, excitedly. Takeshi laughed at this, and ruffled the boy's head saying "All in good time, my friend. Now, let us head back to the house. Our hosts should be awake by now." The pair made thier way out of the forest, and back to the large dwelling.

Dia awoke to the sound of birdsong in her window. When she opened her eyes, the first thing she did, was look over to where Aaron was sleeping. Only, he wasn't there. After sitting up with a start, the young vixen got out of her hammock, and ran outside of her room. She ran downstairs, hoping to see the young human here. She didn't. Panic creeping into her heart that her friend was gone, she whirled at the sound of a door opening, and ran to embrace the young human.

"I thought that you had left me! Please, don't do that again!" Takeshi smiled broadly, and knelt down to Dia's eyelevel.

"He won't leave. He has important training to do on this world." She pulled away, puzzled by what Takeshi had meant.

"What do you mean, 'on this world'?"

"Never you mind, child. Let's say that, Aaron here, has an important destiny waiting for him." Dia looked over at Jim, and he smiled openly. She returned it. Randorn came down the flight of steps, and smiled at the sight of his old friend.

"Well, Takeshi, making ourselves at home, are we?"

"Yes, we are, Randorn. However, I must leave for the moment. Do take care of Aaron, while I am away."

"Of course. How long will you be gone?"

"Oh, maybe a couple of days. There is something that I must discuss with my superiors about."

"I see. do not worry, we will watch over him."

"You're leaving? But, you just got here."

"I will not be long, Aaron-kun. Remember, you are fated for a great destiny, and you must prepare. You will conduct training, upon my arrival. Understood?"

"Yessir." Aaron said, dutifully. Takeshi nodded, and left through the door-way. Aaron went outside, accompanied by Dia and Randorn. The three of them saw him convert to his Ultra-form, and fly away. Aaron smiled along with Randorn, while Dia's jaw hung open, and she blinked in amazement.

"Wh-what was..." She looked over to Aaron, who said

"It is what my race is able to do."

"You mean that, you can turn into a silver person, like him?"

"Well, not yet. But I will be." Randorn placed a blue-furred hand upon his shoulder, and said

"Come, let us head inside."

Later that day, Dia wanted to show Aaron her 'secret place', where she had the vision about meeting the boy. After leading him through a series of twists and turns through the alien woods, they came to a cave entrance.

"I discovered this, a while ago. It goes into this beautiful place, that you just _have_ to see!" After dragging him in, Dia led Aaron through the dark passage-way with ease, while the boy was trying desperately not to trip over any hidden rocks or protrusions. After what seemed like an eternity, they came to the 'beautiful place'; it opened up to a crater, with vegetation growing around the edges, and the walls were steep. Inside the crater, was a small lake, grass, and most amazingly of all, crystals. The crater itself was at least a hundred yards in diameter, and the crystals lined its interior in various places. Aaron saw that the mineral was mostly white, and when he got close to one, it started to glow steadily. Dia giggled at Aaron's reaction, and placed a hand on the one that he was looking at.

"They speak to me."

"What?"

"The Crystals. They speak to me, when I touch them. Here, they can talk to you, too." She took his hand, and placed it on one the crystals. Immediately, his head was filled with whispering voices. Jim turned this way and that, trying to discern the origin of the voices, but could not. They were all speaking at once, and he found it hard to focus on just one voice. However, he did make out, partially, what it was that they were saying;

"Warrior of light...chosen one...might of the sun...mate to one who wields the power of the soul...vanquisher of darkness..." All of it was little more than gibberish to him.

"They say that you are a warrior of light, one who wields the might of the sun as his ally." Aaron turned to face Dia, who wore a grin.

"What does it mean, though? What do they mean? Do they know, what it is that I am meant to do?" Dia simply smiled. She turned her gaze to the crystal, and placed her hand next to Aaron's. That was when the brilliance increased. Then, the voices got louder.

"Chosen...prophecy...place universe to whole...menders of the broken...upholders of justice...bane of shadow..." Aaron drew his hand back, unable to take all the voices talking at once inside his head. Dia looked at him, concern evident.

"I'm fine. Just, a little woozy is all." Dia placed a hand on his shoulder, as if to steady him. He looked up, and grinned at her. He stood up again, and asked

"What do they mean, when they say something about a prophecy?"

"I don't know. This is the first time I've heard of it."

"But, you knew, somehow, that I'd be here."

"Because they showed me that you would be here."

"When you fall asleep?"

"Yes. Maybe, you need to fall asleep here, too."

"But, I'm not-" He never finished. Dia had placed her blue-furred hand over his face, and closed his eye-lids. All at once, his mind was filled with images; they were flashing by so quickly, that it was hard to discern them, but he did see a planet, looking a lot like Earth, and many people. He did not register the people very well, as the images kept on shifting, but he could see that there were lots of people. Then, they changed. It was chaotic, people were running everywhere, screaming and fearful. Buildings were falling upon them. Fires were erupting everywhere. Then, he saw the planet from orbit, as a wave of flame washed over it, reducing the blue and green world to ash-grey and charcoal-black. Then, a hooded figure appeared. He threw back his hood, and laughed. Aaron screamed when he saw his face, everything went to black.

Jim awoke in the bed, next to Krystal. He looked around, and saw that he was still in the bedroom that was given to them by King Tricky. He rose from the bed, and walked to the balcony. He was clad in a tan shirt, and shorts. He looked out over the landscape, and smiled at the similarities it has with Earth. 'Is this what Earth looked like, in prehistoric times?' Jim wondered. Krystal stirred, and opened an eye. She saw her friend standing on the balcony, gazing into the sunrise. She got up, and stood beside him.

"It's beautiful," she says quietly.

"It is, isn't it."

"Remembering Earth?"

"A little. Even though it has been dead for awhile, I still feel the pain, the emptiness. And, more so, the connection."

"Connection? What connection?"

"A connection between what happened to Earth, and what may happen to Corneria."

"You fear that the same thing will happen to Corneria."

"Yes, I do."

"Remember what it was that you said to me, when we over Zoness just before Keronia attacked?"

"Remind me?"

"'If you can still breathe, if you can still stand, then you can still fight,' remember?" Jim grinned, and said

"I do, now." All at once, a gathering of dinos were at the foot of the temple, pointing at Jim, and exclaiming. Soon, they were cheering. 'Oh, no.' Jim thought as he backed away from the balcony and into the room.

"Great, now I'll never get out of here."

"What's wrong?"

"One of the reasons why an Ultra hides his identity from others, is to avoid something precisely this; hero worship." he said gesturing outside, at the cheering throng of dinos.

"You can't really blame them, can you? You saved them from Galdon, not to mention me. This is only a natural reaction. Besides, did you not want this on Corneria?"

"What I wanted on Corneria, is for the people to trust Ultraman, not for them to find out I'm an Ultraman. If people on Corneria found out that I am an Ultra, who knows what will happen." Jim got up from the bed, and made his way to the entrance to the balcony.

"I'm just thankful that these people have a limited technological-based society. If I'm lucky, they'll probably just think of me as some sort of deity, or something."

"Or, maybe just a hero." Krystal said, putting an arm around Jim.

"And where would that leave you, I wonder?" he asked, smirking.

"They will probably think of me as your girlfriend." Jim shot her a 'you're joking, right?' kind of look, and Krystal snuggled closer to him, batting her eyes. The crowd saw this, and let out a loud whoop. Jim placed a hand to his face, and looked up to the heavens, saying "Why, God? Why torment me, thus?"

"Maybe 'God' is just letting you know how much you are appreciated here."

"Or maybe is enjoying a personal joke of his." Just then, a 'Lightfoot' gallimimus walked in, and bowed deep, saying

"Oh, great silver warrior, King Tricky humbly asks your presence." The dino never got up from his bow. Jim looked over at Krystal, who giggled behind her hands. Feeling his frustration at the situation reach a new peak, he said through gritted teeth

"Tell him, I will be there."

"Thank you, o ye who has been chosen by the Krazoa." The dino, never lifting from its bow, left the room. Krystal nearly burst out laughing, but managed to contain it.

"Don't start with me, vixen. _Do not_ start with me." Jim was putting on his black pants, shirt and boots, while Krystal kept her attire. After the pair made thier way to the throne room, the dinos in the chamber started to bow before him. In the large throne room, rows of 'Earthwalker" triceratops were in front of the king and queen. As the pair moved towards them, they bowed, and moved out of thier way. When Krystal and Jim were standing in front of the throne, Krystal bowed, and Jim did likewise. When both of them stood back up, Jim saw Tricky sitting upon a large pillow, with his mate beside him, and two hatchlings, his offspring sitting on his other side.

"Jim, I cannot tell you how grateful we are at you defeating Galdon. I was sure that Fox and I had killed it long ago."

"No problem, Tricky. It is my duty, to help those in need. That is what being a member of the Space Garrison is about."

"Why did you not tell us, that you were the silver warrior?" Tricky's mate asked.

"I must apologize for the deception, for it was necessary for me to hide my true identity. If others knew what I truly am, then my enemies would target those closest to me, as well as those loosely affiliated with me, in an effort to attack me. Also, as I have said last night, there are those who fear that I may turn against them. That makes making my identity as an Ultra warrior all the more precedent. Please, I implore you, not to speak what you have witnessed to any outsiders, foreign or domestic."

"You have our word." Tricky said.

"Thank you. What was it, that you wanted to speak you me about?"

"You said, that you help those who cannot help themselves. That you defend the defenseless?" Tricky's mate asked.

"Yes. That is my purpose here in Lylat." Both ceratopsians looked at eachother, and nodded.

"If you will please follow us." Both of the ceratopsians, followed by thier children, left the throne and headed for the far right of the throne. Jim and Krystal followed, and entered the same doorway as they did. They followed the family down a torch-lit corridor, that looked like it had not been used in ages. Finally, they found themselves in a large chamber, and what was inside made the pair look on in amazement.

"Fox, I think I got something!" Slippy shouted excitedly. The team was in the command head, scouring every inch of space for the missing teammates. After searching sector Y, they decided to head back to Corneria to plot thier next move. That was when Slippy picked up the tracking beacon emanating from Sauria.

"What the heck are those two doing down there?" Falco asked. Fox was wondering the same thing, and wondered if there really was a method to Jim's madness.

"We're gonna find out. Peppy, set a course. Let's get there, but quick people!" Fox took his seat in the command chair, his head resting upon his hands.

They were in an amphitheatre of some sort. There was a ring of seats, going up several levels, but what was in the center, is what held Jim and Krystal's attention; Standing at least twenty feet tall, was a marble statue of an Ultra. Standing just as any Ultra would, after transforming, with the left arm bent at the elbow, fist pointing up, and the right arm shooting straight up, hand also a fist. It didn't have any contour lines to show where the color patterns would be, but the face was like that of most Ultras; smooth, oval eyes, metallic mouth-piece, fin going through the center of the face and head. Jim walked towards it, followed by Krystal. The human placed a hand on the statue, feeling the smooth marble, and wondering just how long it has been, since anyone has been down here.

"Now I can kind of see, why you people treat me the way you do." Jim looked at the dinos, a tear in his eye.

"Yes. your kind has been here before on Sauria. They may have been to the other planets in Lylat as well. But rest assured, that anyone who looks like the figure standing here, is welcome here. It is said that, long ago, the Ultras defended this part of space from evil, when the last civilization first ruled. And in gratitude, the people built this statue."

"What last civilization?"

"We do not know. All we do know is that they were wiped out, by a force that not even the silver warriors could protect them from."

"You mean that, you didn't build all of...this?" Jim asked, gesturing all around him.

"No, we did not. When we came to be, we simply found all of this, abandoned. We did what we could to restore them, and made it our home."

"When you say 'came to be', what exactly do you mean?" Krystal was looking back and forth in between Jim and the dinos.

"We were told by the Krazoa Spirits, that we came to be to replace the old civilization. To pick up where they left off. Once our race has advanced enough, we would be able to contact the silver warriors. And, more importantly, discover why the race fell when it did. For what happened to the last civilization, will happen to the others as well." Jim looked up at the statue, as did Krystal, letting all that they were told sink in.

When the group made it back to the throne room, the king and queen, plus the young heirs, were looking at the human and vixen.

"In order to find what it is that you are truly looking for, you must head back to where it all began. You must find the one who came here before you, and ask him, what it is that your true purpose here is." Tricky said, as recently as possible.

"But, who was it that came here before me?"

"You should already know. The Krazoas have given us this message, to give to you. Also, they told us, that you should be wary, for there is someone out there, right now, who can turn even your closest allies into your worst enemies." Tricky's mate, the queen, said. That last note, sent a shiver down Krystal's spine. As they left the temple for the arwings, Jim felt Krystal's uneasiness, and asked her what was wrong.

"It's just, all we have been told. Ultras coming here before you, the destruction of a past civilization by some unknown evil, and that there is someone out there, who could turn friends against eachother." A thought hit Jim at the moment, but kept it buried. However, he will dwell on it, in the near future. "So, what's our next step?"

"Fortuna."

"Fortuna, why there?"

"You remember that old skeleton, that Dr. Addleson discovered?"

"The one that made you sick?"

"It didn't make me sick, that was just a reaction to the memory transference."

"'Memory transference?' Then, that means that..." "

That skeleton, is the remains of the first Ultraman to appear in this system."

"Fox, we are nearing Sauria, now." Slippy said.

"Good. Do you have a fix on the arwings, yet?"

"Not yet, but...wait," Fox turned to Slippy.

"Wait, I think I got something...yep, it's them, alright."

"Where are they?" "They are just now leaving the atmosphere."

"Open a channel."

"Jim, I'm getting a transmission."

'Uh-oh,' Jim thinks. "Who from?" he asks, fearing the answer.

"It's...from the Great Fox." Krystal said, apprehensively.

"Put it through."

"Jim, Krystal, this is Fox. You are to return to the Great Fox, immediately."

"No can do, Fox. We're on a mission of our own."

"I'm not playing around with you two. Get your butts in this ship, now!"

"I'm not playing around, either Fox. I will use force if I have to. Do not make me resort to that."

'Jim, what are you doing?'

'What I have to, Krystal. you heard what Tricky's mate said. We are dealing with someone who can turn our friends into enemies.'

'That doesn't mean you should attack Fox!'

'Who said I would?' They were interrupted from thier telepathic conversation, by a blare of alarms. The reason was the Great Fox headed in thier direction.

"Jim, give this up. Without your Brace, you're unable to transform."

"Not quite, my furry little friend."

"What?" He felt the power within him stirring. He had grown more accustomed to transforming without the Brace. However, he still felt significantly drained after each transformation. But that won't stop him, not this time, not when he feels so close to the truth.

"Krystal, hightail it to Fortuna. I'll detain Fox."

"Jim, please. There must be another way." Even now she could feel Jim's power swell, as he was about to transform.

"You know there is no other way." Jim's body glowed a bright scarlet.

"Don't worry, I won't hurt Fox." There was a brilliant crimson flash, and a red ball of light flew from Jim's arwing, and in front of the Great Fox. Then, it started to take shape. When it was completely formed, Fox's jaw dropped, as did everyone else's, including Krystal's; Jim had taken on his new form, that of the red being strewn about in a different pattern. It still kept the overall appearance that he once had, but it was different, he even sported 'briefs', instead of 'boxers'. Another difference was that his physique seemed more toned than it normally was, if that could be believed. And the final difference, was that instead of a bright yellow, his eyes shone a metallic/cerulean blue.

"What is..." Peppy started.

"Is he...still the same Jim?"

"No, he isn't." Fox answered to Slippy's question. Jim turned to Krystal.

'Please, go. I will not harm them, just detain them. Trust me.' She wanted to, and so did her heart. She sped off to Fortuna, trusting the new red and silver being. Jim then turned his gaze to Great Fox.

"What now, Fox?" Peppy asked. Fox had his chin on top of his hands, thinking.

"We have no choice," Fox said, as he got up.

"Target the cannons on him, and fire."

"WHAT?" Peppy shouted.

"Fox, you must be joking! That's Jim out there!" Falco also shouted.

"If you think that I'll fire on that kid out there, then you're crazy, Fox!"

"Fine. I'll do it." Fox made his way to the console, and started to press several various buttons and switches. Finally, the screen had a cross-hairs, and a targeting reticule. Peppy tried to put a hand on Fox, but the vulpine shot the hare a look, and the elder stepped back.

"Jim, I'm so sorry." Fox fired the cannons at the Ultra. Jim barely had time to react, but he managed to avoid the blast. Great Fox whirled, and fired again. This time, Jim brought up his arms to gaurd against the blast. When the flash subsided, Jim was seen floating in space, and he lowered his gaurd.

"Amazing..." Peppy said.

"Doesn't anything faze this guy?" Falco asked. "Aim for the warning light." Fox voice said. "What?"

"The warning light on his chest. One shot, and he will fall into unconsciousness."

"You mean die! Jim told us about the warning light. He needs it to survive."

"No. He needs it, to measure the strength he has left." Fox took aim, and fired. Jim avoided the blast like last time, and fired a shot of his own. Unleashing his Mega-Spacium Kousen, Jim was able to take out both of the port wings on Great Fox. After nodding in satisfaction, Jim flew in the direction that Krystal went. On Great Fox, alarms were blaring, and consoles were shorting out from the extensive damage that had been received. "Slippy, damage report!"

"We lost both port wings, Fox. We won't be able to go to warp, or maneuver very well."

"How far to the nearest space dock?" Fox asked, placing his head in both hands.

"There's one that is six hours away from our position. I'm setting a course there, now."

"In the meantime, Fox, you have some explaining to do." Peppy said.

"Yeah. Like, why you just fired on Jim like that?" Falco almost shouted. Fox took in a deep breath, and told them about confiscating Jim's Spacium Brace, among other things.

In her arwing, Krystal was making a b-line for Corneria. However, in the small craft, it would be at least twelve hours before she got there. Then, she saw a bright crimson light, flying next to her. She tried to see into it, but could make out only a vague shape. Then, the shape became more defined, and the glow was starting to decrease. Soon, Jim was flying in his new form, human-sized. "Jim! Did you-"

'Don't worry, love. I made sure that they were not hurt. It will be some time for them to repair the Great Fox. Now, I suggest that we quicken our pace a bit.'

"But, how? This is as fast as the arwing will allow."

'Don't worry, I can remedy that.'

Just then, the crimson glow appeared, and enveloped both Jim, and Krystal. The vixen had to shield her eyes from the brilliance, and when she did open them again, what she saw took her breath away; the space she was traveling in, was replaced by a shimmering red and orange back-ground.

'It's okay. You can step out of your arwing.' Jim's voice said from everywhere. Krystal looked, and saw the human standing next to her arwing with a grin on his face. She climbed out of the craft, and looked around. all around her, was the red and orange.

"Wh-what is all this?" She asked, her voice seeming to come from everywhere as well.

"You are within my travel-sphere. It's what I use to get across long distances."

"A travel-sphere?"

"Yep. All Ultras have one." Krystal looked at Jim, who still kept that grin."

"What's so funny?" she asked.

"Just your expression. You're not used to this, I know, but it's still funny to look at." Krystal blushed, slightly, and took in her new surroundings. The red and orange were shimmering, even appeared to be moving. There was a soft humming sound that had a soothing, almost hypnotic, feel to it.

"How fast are we going?" she asked.

"Roughly, about twice as fast as the Great Fox at warp. We should reach Fortuna in a few minutes."

"Jim, about your new form..."

"Yes?"

"Isn't it the same one that you used on Titania, when you saved me from Wolf?"

"I think so."

"Does that mean that, I am responsible for your transformations?"

"Well, you did say, at one point, that I transformed when you needed me the most."

"I did, didn't I?" she said, with a slight laugh.

"But this time, you transformed on your own, without the Brace, and without my needing you badly enough."

"I know. I think...I'm starting to understand where my power comes from." Jim said, while looking at his hand and clenching it into a fist.

"But I still need answers. I need to find that skeleton that Addleson has found, and get all of the memories, if I can."

"You said that, they were the remains of the first Ultra to appear in the Lylat system. Does this mean that others may have appeared as well?"

"I don't know. That's one of the things that we will, hopefully, find out."

"Your new form, it feels stronger than your other one. I just noticed, but, I do sense a definite change in energy."

"That's what happens, when you really want to protect the people that you care about." Jim said, with a smile. Krystal returned it.

The rest of the trip to Fortuna was, relatively, uneventful. When they were close enough, Jim deactivated the travel sphere, and Krystal was once more flying in her arwing. Jim even used his teleportation power to bring his own arwing from where he left it near Sauria. He flew inside it, and reverted back to his human form.

"Let's let the good doctor know that we are paying him a visit, shall we?" Jim said. After getting the proper clearance from the security detail, Both arwings made a b-line for the planet's surface. When they landed on the same spot as last time, they were greeted by the archeologist himself. The squat little pug, with a detail, waited over by the landing pad as both fighters touched down. After the occupants have left thier vehicles, Dr. Addleson offered a paw to both of them, which they accepted.

"It is good to see you again, my friends. I could tell by your voice, Jim, that this is not really a social call."

"No. This visit is one of import. And, it centers around that skeleton that you dug up."

"I see. Well, minus the skull, the remains are still perfectly intact, and I had it prepared for you, after you sent me the transmission."

"Good. Afterward, I was hoping that we could look around the area that you discovered the remains."

"I had a feeling that you were going to say that." After the group made it to the observation dome, the detail went back to thier regular duties, and the pug escorted them back to his office. there, the human skeleton, minus the head that Krystal had destroyed, was lying on the examination table. Jim closed his eyes, and placed both of his hands over the ribcage, particularly where the heart would be. Then, Jim glowed a bright crimson, and the skeleton a dim blue. then, the dim blue wafted up towards Jim, as the human/Ultra hybrid took in the memories; Orders to explore a new sector of space, getting sucked into a wormhole, appearing in an unexplored part of the cosmos, finding the lost civilization, and a need to protect the human-like inhabitants. He took on the form of an inhabitant, and named himself Sheja. He protected the world that would be come to be known as Sauria. He sent a report to his superiors, stating what it was that he had found, but was unsure if they had received the message. Apparently, they did, and have sent one back, telling him to protect the people, and a startling fact. 'What is it? What did you find out?' Jim tried to pry further, but the knowledge was kept securely. However, more images flooded his brain; death, destruction, hopelessness and despair, feeling helpless, and then nothing. When Jim came to from his trance, he stumbled back from the skeleton, holding his head in a hand. Krystal put a steadying hand on his shoulder. Jim looked at her, and smiled. The pair looked over at the skeleton, and watched it crumple to dust. 'Goodbye, old friend,' Jim thought.

"What did you find out?" "A lot of things. Now I know, where I really came from."

"What are you-"

"Doctor, I would like to see the area where you found the remains."

"Of course. Meet me outside, and I will show you." As the pair left, Dr. Addleson pulled out a small device, and said "This is number 372. The target is here on Fortuna."

"Did he extract the necessary data?" the figure in the recliner asked, overlooking the view of Corneria City.

"Yes. Now, he wants to head for the place where we found it, master."

"By all means, show him, my child. And remember, that you have _him_ at your disposal." As Dr. Addleson signed off, the figure turned the chair to face the door, where Babalu and Clara were standing.

"Soon, my friends, soon, I will have ultimate power, and none will be able to stand in our way. Clara, are you sure that the being that you sent to aide the good doctor, should prove sufficient?" "Even if he falls to the Ultra, there is no way for him to withstand another attack right after. We should try to capture him, right after he fights _him_ off." "Excellent. My ultimate goal, will finally be realized!" At that moment, the figure let out a laughter that would have made a mental patient sound sane.

When the group entered the dig site, they saw that the area was more bigger than they previously thought; The site was centered around a large hill, with barrier-tape around it, while diggers, and archaeologists were digging in various places, most of the area being no more than a large dirt-pile. After the trio stepped past the barrier, they were led inside by an assistant to the doctor. They made thier way into a tunnel in the hill, and passed several scientists and diggers along the way down, into the interior. After what seemed like an eternity, they came to a large cavern. Inside, two archaeologists were going over the interior, which had several markings on the wall. After Addleson told them to leave, the only ones inside the cavern were Krystal, Jim, and the archaeologist himself. Jim went over to the wall that the scientists were at, and placed his hand on it. It had several symbols, all looking like cursive squiggles, strewn about in various places. Krystal saw them as well, and turned to Jim.

"Do you know what these symbols mean?" she asked. Jim nodded.

"It's in the language, of the Ultras. It's a memorial, telling those who find the resting place of the Ultra, to learn from the past, and not repeat history's mistakes."

"Strange, I wonder what that means."

"I think...that I do." Jim said, a little hesitantly.

"What does it mean?" Krystal asked.

"It means...that the jig is up, Addleson!" Jim shouted, whirling to face the shocked pug, his blaster focused on him.

"What are you doing?" Krystal nearly shouted herself.

"Don't move, 'doctor'. I've been onto you, ever since we first landed."

"Your 'warning signal'?" The pug asked, his expression more relaxed.

"Who the hell are you?" Jim shouted again.

"Really, haven't you figured it out by now?" Addleson said, strolling about the cavern, but not taking his eyes off of the pair. Krystal looked from Jim to Addleson, confused.

"Fine, I'll spell it out for you; I'm a GELF."

"A 'gelf'?"

"Yes, as in 'Genetically Engineered Life form'. I was created by my master, to act as one of his many eyes and ears that he has strewn across the system. He has us in places that you would not believe."

"Who is he?" Jim shouted again.

"he he he he. You'll soon find out." Just then, a flash emanated from his being, and the Addleson GELF was gone. Jim and Krystal looked all over the cavern, but there was no sign of him. Then, something in the ground caught his eye, and he bent down to pick it up. It was embedded in the stone floor, but after prying it loose with his knife, he held up the same necklace that Sheja was wearing, when he transformed.

"What's that?"

"Hopefully, the answers to the many questions that we have." Jim said, placing the trinket in his right cargo pocket.

"C'mon, let's get outta here."

After making thier way outside, both of them came across a startling new development;

"Where the heck is everybody?" Jim asked out loud. Indeed, all of the scientists, workers, diggers, everyone had disappeared. It was as if they never existed. Then, someone from behind a tree issued forth a hideous cackle, and stepped into view. It was a human, or so it appeared. Both Jim and Krystal were taken aback, but most noticeably was Jim, since he thought he was the only surviving human in the universe. Then it hit him like a freight train;

"Alright, pal, who are you, and why are you dressed up like a human?" Jim asked, irritatedly. The 'human' was wearing a business-man's suit with a tie, and looked to be about twenty-five.

"Who I am, is your first defeat. I am the one whom was sent here, to ensure your capture."

"My 'capture'?" Jim asked, tilting his head to one side in puzzlement.

"Yes, he he he he he he. The person whom that GELF worked for, is very interested in you. Though why, escapes me. Especially how I know how to defeat you, Jim, or should I say, 'Uruturaman Zenith', as you are known on M78." Krystal looked to Jim, more confused than ever.

"Do not, call me that. That is not who I am, not anymore."

"You can deny who you are, all you want. But, you cannot deny the _fact_ that you are not 'from around here', as the phrase would be. Not to mention, how Gorzul ended up in this universe in the first place.

"Jim, what is he talking about?" The human remained silent.

"Oh, you never told anyone about your dirty little secret, eh?"

"She does not need to know, since it will not happen. Not while I am still in control."

"Oh? hm hm hm hm." The 'human' chuckled, as if in amusement.

"So, you are still on about that, Zenith? You know, as well as I do, what lies in store for this decrepit system, and all those who dwell in it." he finalized, by raising an object in his hand, so both could see it. Krystal still held her confused expression, while Jim's eyes widened.

"You are..."

"I will reawaken your senses, and everything shall become clear once more. You shall know your true destiny." Then, he raised the object, which was a foot and a half long cylindrical object, colored black and purple, and pulled the two ends apart. When they were pulled apart, there was a dark purple flash, and the being turned into something that made Krystal's jaw drop, and Jim's expression only hardened. "He's...an Ultra?"

Ten hours ago: "You're sending an Ultra, to beat this kid?" the figure in the recliner asked. Babalu and Clara looked at eachother, and Clara smiled, while Babalu would as well, if he could.

"This Ultra, is different."

"How so?"

"When an Ultra falls, he loses his goodness, and his heart. His 'soul', if you will," explained Babalu.

"However, they're power is said to get even stronger, rivaling that of the most highest ranking in the Space Garrison. However, they're quite unpredictable, and are volatile. They have a lust for power, and will do anything to get it, even through manipulation, as you will soon know. Once they have fallen, they become, the Dark Ultra." Clara finished

Present, Fortuna: The Ultra stood before them, but it was unlike any Ultra that they have seen before till now, though Jim has heard of it; It was mostly black and red, with it acting as covering on its silver body, with patterns of gold on the arms and body. Its oval eyes, that would be glowing, were also black and empty, like a doll's eyes. Even its warning light shared the same darkness. Jim recognized it, for he had been shown records of just such an Ultra, back on M78; "Faust..." he nearly whispers. Faust was standing just a few feet from them, his head was adorned by three fins, one going through the center of his head, and two on the left and right side. He pointed at Jim, and said in a distorted voice

"You cannot resist who it is that you really are. Sooner or later, you will have to come face to face with the fact that you will be these people's downfall." Krystal tried to look into this being's head, but found herself blocked. Then, Faust looked at Krystal, and his eyes flashed red for a moment. Then, Krystal fell to her knees, holding her head in her hands and yelling in pain. "Krystal!" Jim moved to her, and gently took her by the shoulders.

"Are you okay?"

"That force I felt...pure evil." she said, exhaustedly. Jim turned an angry glare at Faust. He felt the power well up from inside of him, and released it with a loud "GAAAIIIIYYYOOOOO!" Then, both Jim and Faust were squaring eachother off, Jim in his new form, and Faust simply looking at him.

"Hmph. You think your so hot, now that your real self has awakened?"

"My real self reacts when someone I care about is placed in danger." Jim looked back at Krystal, who looked up at him, her eyes filled with hope.

"I am the light, that chases away the darkness. I will not allow you to do as you please here." Jim said, turning back to Faust. He got into his combat stance, and so did Faust. Then, both Ultras charged at eachother.

end of Truths revealed, part 1.


	17. Truths Revealed, pt2

Chapter 17

Truths Revealed pt.2

"Let's see if I got this straight, you confiscated his Spacium Brace, in hopes that it would neutralize his transformation, only for him to find a new way to transform, and go all kinds of postal on us." Falco surmised. After sustaining heavy damage from Jim, the Great Fox limped all the way to the nearest docking station, two hours away from Sauria on normal power, and the damage alone will take maintenance several hours, if not two days, to repair, and leave a fairly sized hole in Fox's wallet. Needless to say, the team was rather displeased with what has happened.

"Fox, that is the stupidest thing that you have done, yet." Falco finalized, turning away.

"Why the secrecy? Why not tell us about it?" Peppy, the elder, asked.

"If Jim really was losing it, as the Ultra suggests, there's no telling what would happen if he found out." Fox never brought up his head from his hands, as he rested his chin on closed fists.

"No wonder he totaled the Great Fox! Taking his Brace away would make anyone go crazy! Either way, that kid's either already postal, or is damned near it. For God's sake, look what he did to the _ship_!" Falco said, gesturing to the strewn wires and debris scattered and being removed by mouse-like 'cleaner-bots'. The team was assembled in the control head, since the briefing room was considered inaccessible.

"If you knew what it was that I knew, and seen what I saw, than you would probably think differently, Falco. He put Cody and his friends in danger, and Krystal as well. And it was all just to look like a hero, to pretend what it is that he wants to be, no matter who gets hurt!"

"Fox, I take back what I said. You're not stupid, you're just delusional!" Falco blurted. "I mean, can you _hear_ yourself? 'Just to pretend to be-', ahhhh." Falco held his face in his hand, and slowly shook his head.

"Fox, now you _know_ that Jim would never do that! He knows how to use his power well enough. At least, so that you don't have to baby-sit him! True, that he's still a kid, and just discovering his own potential, but I seem to recall a certain mercenary who was hardly different from him. How said mercenary, in his younger years, wanted to show off to a certain fennec that we all know, and how said younger mercenary often gotten himself busted several times for that, and it took this elder hare to get him out of trouble, on more than one occasion." Fox absorbed all that Peppy said, and knew what he was saying; how Fox, during his academy years, wanted to show off his skills to Fara, and how, one time, he got busted by security for flying a fighter without a license, and being out on curfew, and using said fighter for purposes other than military uses, with a civilian inside. He was thrown in the detention block, and Peppy had to get up at one in the morning to get him out. The older hare was none to pleased with that, giving the young Fox an earful to last a lifetime. Fox also wondered, what it was that those two were doing right now.

Fortuna: There were two things going through Jim's mind right now; 1. How am I going to get out of this alive, and 2. He had better block that kick, or else. Jim's arm came up, a split-second before the round-house kick could connect. Then, he executed a crane-chop, making his opponent stumble back, away from him and Krystal. Jim was in his new 'Powered' Ultra form, his 'true self', as Dark Faust described it, the latter recovering from the powerful blow that had been dealt to him. Both of the Ultras were in thier fourty-meter forms, and the once serene Fortuna jungle, became a battle ground of light and darkness. "Hmph. You'll need to do a lot better than that, if you want any chance of defeating me. As a fallen Ultra, my power has been magnified, and I can feel the fear in you giving me even more strength." sneered Faust.

"Faust, you are going to regret ever laying eyes on me. I know that you were felled at the hands of Nexus, but I am not like him. I will not allow you to leave this world with your life." The Ultras conversed in Japanese, but Krystal used her mental abilities to understand them, and watched as both Ultras were having a standoff, circling eachother in thier battle-stances, waiting for the other to make a move. That was when Faust made his; he charged at Jim, who cartwheeled out of his way, and threw a shredding halo. Faust put up a barrier, and both halo and shield destroyed eachother in a flash of light-blue and dark-purple. Then, Jim rushed Faust, catching him off-gaurd. He got the dark one in an arm-bar, and twisted his arm, making Faust grab his shoulder, and grunt in pain. Jim then pushed on his shoulder, making him lean forward, perfect position for him to plant his foot in his face. After a swift kick, Faust shot back up, to be met with two solid blows to his ribs, and Jim released him, only to hit him in the face with a cross. The dark one fell backward, and Jim got into his battle stance once more, watching the dark one hold his face in apparent pain. Then, Jim stood fully erect, and pointed at the down Faust.

"I had heard that your power surges to incredible levels when you fall. Is this the best that you can do? I must admit, that I am disappointed." Jim turned his back on the fallen Ultra, saying "Face me again, once you have improved."

"Why, you..." Faust was unable to take this insult. How dare this insignificant insect disrespect him so. Faust rose to his feet, albeit painfully, but he ignored it. 'I underestimated him. A mistake that I will not make a second time.' Just then, Faust's eyes began to glow a deep red, and he was growling with rage. Jim whirled to see the spectacle, and Krystal could feel the evil power within him swell to unbelievable amounts. Then, Faust rushed at Jim. With speed that defies his size, the dark one body slammed Jim to the ground, and was on top of him. Relentlessly, he pounded his fists into Jim's silvery, helmet-like face, each blow more painful than the last. But Jim was not done yet; he grabbed both of Faust's arms, and, growling with effort, pushed him off of him. The dark one went flying away, only to land on his feet like a feline. Both combatants faced eachother. Then, Jim charged at Faust, and did a flying kick in Faust's direction. It landed on his right shoulder, and made the dark one fall onto his back. Faust got to his knees, and was kicked in the face by Jim, and was sent rolling away. He came back onto his feet, and both of them engaged in a fierce hand-to-hand duel; Both of them were striking, blocking, and countering eachother almost at the same time. Jim tried a Judo chop for Faust's shoulder, but the dark one caught it, and tried to execute a shoulder toss. Jim, however, did an aerial summersault and landed on his feet, facing Faust. Both of them charged, and tried to land a blow on eachother, but were blocking eachother once more. Then, Faust swept Jim's legs out from under him, sending the silver and red warrior to the ground. Faust was about to send his heel crashing down on Jim's midsection, but the Warrior of Light caught it with both hands, and twisted it. It sent the dark one crashing to the ground, and Jim was on his feet once more, facing Faust in his combat stance. Jim lunged at Faust, and landed a flying-punch to his face, sending him back, but not falling. Faust was quick to recover, and was barely able to evade a blow from Jim to his midsection. Both fighters backed off, circling eachother.

"Why do you fight so fiercely?" Faust asks. "Is it because, you feel that these pathetically lower life forms are worth saving?" He scoffs, and says "They are hardly any better than humans. They may be slightly more advanced, but are just, as, weak." he punctuates.

"They are not as weak as you think, Faust. I have seen these people up close, and they surpassed humans in ways I did not think possible. They do not try to kill eachother like humans, and they now live in harmony with thier environment. Some things which humans had yet to accomplish. Those, and more, are more than enough to make them worth protecting." Jim argues. "And I will continue to protect them. Especially from monsters like you!" he finalizes by pointing an accusing Faust.

"Oh, how noble. The brave Warrior of Light, protecting the helpless and defenseless. Just like a member of the Garrison. And, how like your father." Faust chuckles at this, and Krystal wonders what he meant.

"My father is not a part of this."

Krystal tries to break through Faust's mental defenses, but no such luck.

"Grrrrr, ENOUGH! I'm going to finish you, right here and now, Zenith!" Faust yells at Jim. Just then, his eyes glowed just a bit brighter, and he lunges at Jim. Jim rolls away from him, and Faust crashes to the ground. He gets back up, and faces the Warrior of Light once more. That's when Faust decides to switch tactics; he raised his right hand, which was glowing a dark purple. Then, several blasts shoot forth, aimed at Jim. Jim cartwheels out of the way, and the blasts explode harmlessly. Faust fires again, and Jim back-flips out of the way. Faust keeps on firing, while Jim continues to back-flip put of thier way, the blasts exploding harmlessly around him. Jim got back up, and fires his slash-beam at Faust, this attack hitting home. It tore into the dark one's midsection, throwing sparks from where it impacted, and making Faust stumble back, groaning in pain. Growling in rage, Faust decides to use his finisher. After gathering energy around him, he releases it in a large, dark violet ball of energy. Then, he launches the ball straight up. After rising to several thousand meters, it explodes, and smaller projectiles were raining down to the surface,

"By the way, they're not aimed at you."

"What?" Faust gestures with his head to where Krystal was hiding, and Jim got the idea.

"Let's see what happens, when my Dark Cluster places her in danger. You have two choices before they impact; 1. protect the filthy little mongrel from me, or 2. take me out right now. You have twenty seconds."

Jim looked from Faust to Krystal, before deciding. For him, it was a no-brainer; he got in between of the assault and Krystal, and erected his barrier. The shield caught most of the blasts, and those that did not get caught, exploded harmlessly around the two of them. After the attack was done, Jim looked behind him, and nodded at Krystal, who smiled and returned the gesture. Then, he turned his gaze back to Faust, who was charging up another round.

"Not this time, Faust!" Jim shouts. After placing his arms in a plus-shape, he unleashes his Spacium Kousen. The blue/white beam hits the energy ball forming in Faust's hands, and detonates it, causing a chain-reaction. the blast sends Faust to the ground. Jim then places his right arm in front of his warning light, which was flashing a slow, steady red. His left arm is sticking straight out to his left, while his right arm was bent upward at the elbow, hand pointed straight up. Then, blue and white energy gathered around him, and entered him. After Faust struggled to his feet slowly, his own warning light was flashing as well, and at the same pace as Jim's. Then, Jim placed his hands and arms in a plus-shape again, only, instead of only the edge of his right hand, the beam came out of his hands and arms, making the beam cross-shaped itself. Faust caught the Mega-Spacium Kousen full in the chest, unable to dodge it. He was sent flying back from the impact, screaming in pain as he impacted on the ground. He writhed in pain, his warning light flashing faster. Jim walked towards the dark one, hands turned into fists, looking down at the fallen warrior. Faust got up slowly, the chime from his warning light constant. He had underestimated this foe too much, and it costed him, almost dearly. Then, Faust was vanishing into thin air, saying "Next time, Zenith..." Jim looked around, and when he was satisfied that the dark one was gone, he changed his size to that of a human's and made his way to Krystal's hiding place. When Krystal saw Jim, she ran up and embraced him, with Jim still in his Ultra form. She pulled away, to look into the cerulean-blue eyes of his new form, and said "Is it true what you said, about us really worth saving?"

"Yes. Why?"

"Nothing. It's just that, compared to beings like you, we must seem like insects."

"Krystal, all life is worth protecting. You don't know it yet, but all life is connected. We are bound to eachother by a force, that even the Ultras do not yet understand themselves. The ones that say that you are insignificant, are themselves small compared to people like you."

Krystal could feel the sincerity in his distorted voice, and embraced him again. In his Ultra form, Jim stood a full head taller than Krystal did, and she rested her head on his chest, seeing the warning light flash slowly, steadily. To her, it was like the beating of his heart.

A short time later, two arwings could be seen leaving the planet's surface, and headed out into space. "Krystal, do you know anyone who could help us out in this type of predicament?"

The blue vixen thought for moment, and an idea came to her. "If you mean a place where we can hide for awhile, then yes, I may know someone who could help us."

"Great, who?" Jim said, enthusiastic that things were starting look a little less dim.

"Two friends of mine. They'll be able to hide us from Fox for awhile."

"Friends of yours, eh? Who are they, guys who you shot down when they tried to ask you out?" Jim asks, slightly laughing.

Krystal laughed as well, saying "No, not quite like that. You'll see, soon enough."

"Well, where are they, now?"

"Corneria."

"Too risky. Fox could find us there, easily. That is his home turf, after all."

"That is a risk that we have to take. Besides, he isn't the only one who knows Corneria well like the back of his hand."

"I hope so. How long will it take for us to get there in arwings?"

"At least a few hours. That should be enough time to get settled in, considering what it was you did to the Great Fox. And while we are on the subject, you need to show a little more self-control. Hitting the poor ship like that, it's a miracle that the Great Fox held together." Jim smiled a little at the memory. Despite not wanting to damage it too badly, he can't help but feel satisfaction at his own handiwork.

"And don't think that I don't know that you are feeling proud about yourself right now. Shame on you!" she scolded.

'Sheesh. She's starting to sound like my mother.' Jim thought, still smiling.

"I heard that!" Krystal said, over the mic. making him flinch somewhat. Both ships were flying as fast as the G-Diffuser system would allow, which was pretty fast by starfighter standards. "So, tell me more about these friends of yours." Jim said, curious.

"Fara introduced me to them some time ago. They're both expert pilots, and at the top of the Cornerian Academy class. They're employed as a special team, like us, but operate domestically, taking missions near Corneria."

"I see. What are thier names?"

"Faye and Miyu." Jim doesn't know where, but he knows that he had heard those names from somewhere before.

M78: In the Land of Light, two entities of light are standing in an aura of gold, and red. One of them turns to the other, and says "It would appear that Zenith has awakened, somewhat."

"I know. I've felt it as well." says the other.

"Well, now it is certain that we may have to go to thier reality, after all. The question now is, 'when and where'."

"If he has been able to enthrall two Dark Ultras, then we have no choice _but_ to enter through _that_ way." the second one replies.

"Using the same way that Zenith used to enter thier world, eh? You know how unpredictable the gateway is, especially after all this time." the first one argues.

"We may have no choice. Gorzul is getting stronger with each passing moment." The second one replies, clenching a fist. "We should have destroyed him here, when we had the chance."

"True, but your son saw to his survival, didn't he, Hayata-niisan?" the first one replies, turning away from the other. The one called Hayata looks up, and sees the starry sky through the aura, with the one name on his mind; 'Zenith...'

Lylat system: After the two arwings were able to enter the atmosphere of Corneria, Krystal sent a transmission to her 'friends'. The reply was one that she had hoped for.

"They're willing to take us in, as I knew they would."

"Nice. So, where do we land?" Jim asks.

"Just follow me." The two arwings raced across the surface of the planet, towards a city that Jim had not been before; It was about two thirds the size of Corneria City, but was no less advanced. Although, it had a more nature-ish feel to it, in that it more greenery than Corneria City did. After flying over the city for a bit, Jim realized where he was. "This is, Corinthia isn't it?" he says out loud.

"Mm-hm."

"I bet the people here are still getting over my bout with my first opponent here," Jim says, seeing all the construction at work. Most of the buildings and roads were still being rebuilt, but looked almost finished. "The landing pad is right there." Krystal says, and Jim looked below him, to see a fighter-sized pad, with two forms standing next to it. Both fighters landed on it, and Krystal was the first one to exit. She was greeted from an embrace from each of the two figures. Jim got out, and got a good look at them; one was a lynx, wearing a denim jacket and pants, while the other was a white-furred collie, wearing a pink dress, and a red bow on her head. Now he remembers who the two were, from a gamer-site on Earth; After the success of the SNES version of Star Fox, Nintendo was going to release a second one for the console, but supposedly, the project was scrapped. It was to include two new characters who joined the team, named Faye and Miyu, and the two girls standing before him looked almost exactly like thier game-sprites. The three of them were conversing happily, catching up. Then, Krystal turns to the human, and waves him over. Jim made his way to the group, and gets a better look at them. Miyu, the lynx, had two piercings in her left ear, and a mischievous look to her visage, as her piercing eyes looked up and down the human, while Faye, the collie, merely looked at him with a broad grin.

"So, this is the human that we have heard so much about." Miyu says, after sizing him up. "Doesn't look like a hotshot pilot to me."

"Looks can be deceiving." Jim replies. Miyu smirks, as if to say 'We'll see about that.'

"Oh my God, like, he is so totally as you described him!" Faye exclaims. Jim let out a sigh, thinking 'Oh, joy. The Lylat system has its share of blondes, it seems' Krystal picked up the thought, but did not quite understand what he meant. "So, is it true, that your homeworld got, you know."

"Faye!" Krystal exclaimed. "You know that's inappropriate! He feels very strongly about tha-"

"It's true."

"Huh?" Faye asks, turning to Jim, who had his head down.

"It's true. My home, my people, my family and friends are all..."

Jim looked up, and saw the sympathetic look on thier faces.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to..."

"It's fine. I'm used to it by now." Jim replies, trying to smile. They were lead to a hover vehicle, and with Miyu at the wheel, took them to thier 'little pad', as the lynx said. Only, the little pad was not quite so little. It was a large house, with two stories, and a balcony. The interior was modestly furnished, with pictures of the two on the walls, as well as some of Krystal, and Fara, even the Star Fox team. Jim looked at them, and sad nostalgia filled him.

"She said that you were a soldier on your planet."

Jim turned suddenly, and saw Miyu looking at the photos as well.

"Yes. I was an infantryman. My race is usually at war with itself, and my nation is usually the one who gets the calls for help to put an end to the fighting."

"Did you kill anyone?" she asks, not taking her eyes off of the photos.

"Only when I had to."

"I know the feeling."

"Oh, right. Krystal said that both you and Faye were in the Cornerian Academy together, weren't you."

"Mm-hm. We both graduated, although how Faye did, still eludes me. I saw the look on your face when she was talking to you, and I must say, you're not too far off the mark. While she is an ace, her 'goodie-goodie' attitude, and dim-wittedness has been known to annoy most people out of thier skulls."

"Tell me, how did you two meet Krystal."

"Fara introduced us. Out of us, Fara was one of the more, level-headed types that we know. When Krystal first arrived, the poor thing was almost scared to death, since she has never really been in contact with a civilization as advanced as our own. At first, she was reclusive, hardly saying a word to us. However, with time and encouragement, she came out of her shell, and became one of us."

"And that's how she discovered the joys of wasting one's time in the shopping center."

Miyu laughed at that, saying "You can thank Faye for that. Idiot practically spends her life there. Too bad that she dragged Krystal into it, as well. The last thing we need is another Faye running around."

"Especially one that can read minds." Jim said, with a smirk. Miyu returned it.

Faye and Krystal walked in. and saw the two looking at the photos. "Oh, good. You two are getting along just fine." both of them turned, and saw the vulpine and canine looking at them.

"Yeah, so?" Miyu asked, defensively.

"Nothing, it's just nice that's all." Krystal said, a little offended.

"Don't worry, Krystal. You know how Miyu is about others seeing her act civil for once." Faye says, shooting a glare at Miyu.

"Hmph. Rather be unruly, than ditzy."

"And what is that supposed to mean?" As the two started to argue, both Jim and Krystal were wondering just how exactly this pair got along.

'Are they always going to be doing that?' Jim wonders.

'Unfortunately, this is normal for them.' Krystal replies, telepathically. Jim placed a hand in his pocket, and feels the necklace that he got from Fortuna. He remembers what Faust said; 'So, you have not told them your dirty little secret, have you. About, the real reason why Gorzul ended up here. You can deny it all you want, but you cannot deny the fact of what lies in store for this decrepit little system.' Krystal was picking up the memory from thier rapport, and decided to ask Jim something that had been bothering her.

'Jim, when that Ultra called you 'Zenith', it felt like it knew you from somewhere. Also, it said something about why Gorzul was here to begin with. What did it mean?' Jim didn't reply, keeping a firm grip on the necklace. 'Jim? You can tell me. I'm your friend.'

'I know, Krystal. That's why I want to tell you, but I can't. Not here, not now. Not until I get some answers.' His grip on the necklace tightened. The two decided to stop bickering, and turn to the human and vulpine. That's when Faye decided to speak up.

"Hey, I almost forgot! Brad's coming over for the barbecue!"

"Oh, yeah. That little dweeb did mention something about that, didn't he?" Faye shot Miyu another look, but the lynx ignored it. Faye turned to both Jim and Krystal, saying "You two are going to be there, right?"

"Uh, Faye? Krystal asked if both she and Jim could crash here for awhile. I don't think they're going anywhere." Miyu said, annoyance creeping into her voice

"I'd just thought that I'd ask."

"We'll be there. Won't we Jim?" All eyes were on him, as he answered "Uhm, yeah sure." rather hesitantly.

"Great! It should be a few hours before they show up. In the mean time, why don't you two get settled in?" Faye said, leading them upstairs. They were shown thier separate rooms, and Jim entered his. He got out the necklace, and held it in his hand.

"Jim, can I come in?" Krystal's voice sounded.

"Uh, sure." Krystal came in, still in her flightsuit, and sat down next to Jim.

"You can talk to me. What's bothering you?"

"Everything. Fox stabbing me in the back, Faust appearing on Fortuna, and he reminds me of my supposed destiny. Is there no end to this shit? Do I have to suffer through this?" Jim angrily got up, and faced the window. Krystal got up as well, and placed her arms around Jim, consoling him. "What is your 'supposed' destiny? What is it, that you were meant to do?" Jim hesitated before answering.

"To protect you from Gorzul, that's what."

"We both know that you don't believe that. There's something else, and it's eating you inside. Why won't you tell me."

"Because if I do, you may not care for me as you do now."

"What?" Krystal asked, sounding amused. Jim turned to face her, tears forming in his eyes. Her amused look disappeared, replaced by concern. Jim turned his gaze back out of the window, at the mountain range that Corneria is famous for.

"Please, Krystal. I just want to be alone right now."

"Okay. When you feel like talking, I'll be right here." She left, and Jim still held the necklace, thinking 'I will not allow them to die! Not here, not now. I'll destroy myself first!' Jim sat cross-legged on the floor, and held the necklace in the palm of his hand. Then, the crystal on the end started to glow, and levitate a few inches from his palm. It started to spin rapidly, and turn from blue to gold in the process. Jim smiled, and closed his eyes, receiving the information from the trinket.

They started to arrive earlier than expected. Soon, a throng of anthros started to pour in. In the backyard, where the grill is, Miyu was getting the meat ready. After several hours of basting, she laid out the slabs of beef and chicken on the grill, turning them over every so often. Krystal was mingling with Faye, who was, apparently, the one who wanted to be the center of attention. She noticed the aroma emanating from the backyard, and her hunger grew. She went outside, and saw Miyu grilling the food. The lynx looked over her shoulder, and saw the azure vulpine looking at the meat. She smiled amusingly, saying "You kinda remind me of Faye, when she's starved for attention." Krystal's head snapped up, blushing.

"Sorry. I was just-"

"Daydreaming, again?" the lynx said, not losing her smile. Krystal felt that Miyu was the only one who truly understood her. Faye was kind, but a bit out there. Miyu, while not looking all that approachable, did have a sense about people, especially when something was on thier mind.

"Speaking of daydream, where's your boyfriend at?"

"What?"

Miyu smiled, saying "Did you already forget about the guy you came here with? Where's Jim at?"

"Oh, him. Um, he's still upstairs, asleep I guess."

"How can anyone sleep with all that racket going on?" Miyu gestured inside, where music was playing loudly. Krystal smiled sheepishly, saying "He has his own music, and he turns it up full blast. It practically drowns out all other outside sound."

"Really? Might have to ask him to play some, later. If, he shows up." Miyu returned to the grill, and turned over the steaks. Krystal decided to check up on Jim. After making her way through the crowd of people, she reached the stairs, only to be spotted by Faye.

"Hey, Krys! Where ya headed?"

"To check on Jim." she said, smiling slightly.

"Well, tell him to get his butt down here, now! He's missing one helluva party!" the collie exclaimed, gesturing to the throng of people behind her. The anthros let out a resounding cheer, as if to beckon the human down. Krystal continued to smile, saying that she will try to bring him down. She stopped by his door, and knocked. When she got no answer, she opened the door, and was rooted to the spot by shock; Jim was sitting in the middle of the bedroom floor, cross-legged, the necklace they got from Fortuna was floating from his opened hand, spinning and glowing a golden color. His eyes were shut in concentration, and sweat streamed down his face. But that's not what has her attention at this moment. What does however, is the energy that is crackling around and on him. It was as if he became a human electrical outlet, with electricity dancing around him and the room. He was grunting with effort, as if the strain on him was tremendous.

"Ji-Jim? Wha-what's happening to you?" Krystal practically shouted, with fear in her voice. Jim opened his eyes, and instead of the usual steel-grey color, they were glowing a bright blue.

"_**You should not be here!**_" Jim said, in a voice that was obviously not his.

Krystal shut the door, tears almost streaming down her face. Her friend was probably in pain, and she could do nothing to help him. After calming down a bit, she decided to return to the party. When she got downstairs, she was greeted by Faye and co.

"Well? Is he coming or what?"

"I'm sorry, but Jim is not feeling very well, so-"

"What? He's here in my home, and he doesn't have the decency to join us in our little bash?" Faye was little more than upset over this. After shoving the vixen out of her way, she stormed up the steps, towards Jim's room.

"Faye, wait, you don't understand!"

"What I understand, is that we have a party-crasher here! Well, I'll not stand for it, will I boys?" she asked the crowd, and they gave her a resounding cheer in acknowledgement. Faye continued up, followed by Krystal. Faye pounded on his door, shouting "Hey, buddy! There's a party going on, and you said that you were gonna show!"

"Faye, please stop this!" Krystal pleaded.

"Forget it! If there's one type of person who I detest above all else, it's a no-show!"

After throwing the door open, it was Faye's turn to stand there dumbstruck. The energy dancing around Jim intensified, and his eyes were partially open now, little more than slits, but just enough to let some of the light in them through. Then, Jim shouted "_**No! That's impossible! It cannot BE!**_" through the voice that wasn't his. Then, he stood up, and was floating just a few inches off of the ground, the necklace floating in front of him. Then, Jim transformed into a being of light, and the necklace turned into light as well.

"WHAT THE HECK IS GOING ON HERE?" Faye shouted.

It was enough for Jim to glance at her, breaking his concentration. All he got out was a "_**What the**_-", before being flung to the wall, his form returning to that of a human being, and the necklace falling to the floor. Krystal burst through, and was holding Jim's head in her hands, trying to wake him up. Faye also went in, her attention on the necklace. She picked it up, and stared at it. Jim came around, and looked up into Krystal's worried vulpine face.

"Krystal? What just happened?" His answer came in the form of the vixen embracing him tightly. He looked over her shoulder, and what he saw made his eyes go wide. Faye was holding the necklace, and seemed to be entranced by it, as it started to levitate and glow a golden light once more.

"Faye, drop that quick!" Jim shouted. However, Faye's eyes started to glow as well, as the force inside tried to take her over. Jim shoved Krystal away, and converted to his Ultra form. He was in his 'Ultra Jim' form, and was holding the necklace in a clenched fist. Faye, snapped out from her trance, was sitting on her rear, looking up at Jim, her mouth agape. "You-you-you're a..a..a" was all she could get out. Jim clenched his fist tighter, crushing the necklace, with light escaping from his hand, confirming the crystal's destruction. Jim opened his hand, and only dust remained. He lowered his hand, and offered his other to Faye. Krystal heard people coming up, and was quick to close the door.

"Want some help?" Jim asked in his distorted voice calmly, almost tenderly. Faye looked at the silver hand, and hesitated. Finally, she accepted it, and was helped to her feet. She continued to stare at Jim, while he looked back at Krystal. The vixen nodded at him, and he returned it. He turned his gaze back to the white-haired collie, who was rooted to the spot.

"I know, that this may seem like quite a shock to you, but believe me, I am not going to harm you."

After finding her voice, she blurted "You're the military's secret weapon, aren't you? Yeah, I've seen you on the news. You took out those monster thingies with Star Fox! But...you're so...so..."

"Much smaller than you expected?" Jim asked, placing his fists on his waist, laughing slightly.

"...yeah."

"It happens. I turn to this form to save energy. When I go giant size, that's when you should be running."

"But...but...how did you...I mean...why are you.." Faye couldn't get the question out. So much was going through her head right now, that even Krystal thought that she was more jumbled up than usual.

"There's so much to tell you. But we will talk later, I think. If I'm not mistaken, Those people are probably wondering what it is that you are doing."

"Yeah...sure...right...people...okay." Faye was still brain-dead from the experience. Jim let out an audible sigh, and turned to Krystal.

"Can you do something for her? It's like I'm talking to a friggin' wall, here."

"I'll see what I can do." Krystal placed a hand on Faye's head, and concentrated. After a while, Faye snapped back out of her trance, and blinked several times. "What are you..." she asked. Jim reverted back to his human form, and smiled slightly.

"Please, tell no one what it was that you saw here. It is vitally important."

"Okay. But you owe me and Miyu an explanation when this is over, before we can allow you to stay here."

"Fair enough."

"Well, since we got that bit of weirdness out of the way, want to join us?" Faye asked, trying to smile. Jim let out a slight sigh, and said "I don't have much of a choice, do I?"

"Not this time, Jim. You have to go down." Krystal said firmly, with a slight grin on her blue vulpine features. With an audible sigh, Jim shook his head. Krystal knew what it was that he was feeling; isolation. He felt like he didn't belong with them.

'After all this time, he still feels like an outsider to us. I can't blame him. He's too physically different from us to fit in properly, but maybe that won't matter. Maybe they'll accept him?' Krystal thought hopefully. She wrapped an arm around Jim, and nodded assuringly.

"Fine, I'll be down in a minute." he said, rather unconvincingly. Faye nodded, and went out the door. Then, the human/Ultra hybrid slumped onto the bed.

"Jim, it will be alright. These people are not going to alienate you. I promise."

"I wish that I could believe that, Krystal. I really do. I want to believe, but I don't know. After all this time, I still feel like an alien to you all, and..." He couldn't finish, and let his head fall into his hands. No matter how close she held him, Krystal could not rid him of his loneliness.

Downstairs, things were a bit more jovial than the gloom Jim was feeling upstairs. After making his way down, Faye was there, and the intro started. Either they were seriously hammered, or were used to 'non-Lylats', as the term was used to describe the non-anthros that often came to the Lylat system, but the group let out a resounding cheer, more than likely manipulated by the snow-white collie. Jim felt a little better, but still the feeling persisted. Jim made his way outside to the backyard, where there is not as much people. He saw Miyu grilling, and felt a little better feeling alone. Miyu turned, and a slight smile crept into her feline features.

"Hey, boy wonder. Couldn't stand it in there, huh?"

"Not really. And what's with the 'boy wonder'? Are we going by a nick-name basis now?" Jim asked, slightly amused. Miyu let out a slight laugh, and said

"Only if you want to."

"So how come you're not in there, then? Aside from the grilling, that is."

"I've always felt better alone. Don't hafta deal with other people's annoyances and whatnot."

"Case in point would be Faye, right?" Miyu laughed out loud at that. She turned to him, and was still smiling slightly. Jim returned it. Maybe, he won't feel as lonely, after all. Then, the crowd moved outside.

"You just had to jinx it, didn't ya?" Faye asked, a rather annoyed look played out on her face as she was looking at Jim. Jim noticed that the collie was carrying a device, and set it on the middle of the concrete platform

"I didn't have to jinx it. Your friend took care of that." Miyu saw what Jim had meant, and let out an audible groan.

"Oh, no. Not the karaoke machine again."

"Why? What's wrong?"

"She's tone deaf as all hell, that's what. I'd suggest that you find some way to protect your hearing, but fast."

"Alright! Are you people ready to rock?" Faye asked the crowd, who answered with a loud "YEAH!" Faye pressed a button on the knee-high, rectangular device, and music started to play. The tune was like a hybrid of both rock, and rap, a genre that was fairly popular here on Corneria. Miyu was not exaggerating, when she said that her collie roomie was tone deaf; at every turn, at every lyric, her voice was either too high, or not high enough. Jim found this to be rather annoying, while Miyu found it to be excruciating.

'God, does she always have to pull that damned thing out? It's like listening to some dying animal caught in a trap!' Krystal found Jim, and ran over to him. She was holding a cup in her hand, and was grinning broadly.

"Jim! Are you enjoying yourself?" The human/Ultra hybrid looked up at Faye, listening to her ear-drum shattering wailing.

"Not really," he said, rather painfully.

"I know. She's... well..."

"God awful..." Jim said, wearing a pained expression.

"Hey! Krys said that you got music on ya, right?" Miyu asked, spatula in hand

"Yeah, so?" Jim asked, puzzled.

"Then get your butt up there, and play us some. Or would you rather listen to her for the next eternity?" Jim looked at Faye, and she seemed to be enjoying herself, as well as most of the others, but some were also wearing pained expressions. Jim pulled out his MP3, and looked at Krystal. She nodded assuringly, and Jim went up. When the song was over, much to his relief, Jim went up next to Faye, MP3 in hand.

"You wanna go?" Faye asked, handing him the mic.

"I don't know. I'm not sure if these people had enough of your...'angelic' voice." he replied, punctuating the word angelic. Miyu got the joke, and laughed behind her hand, as did some of the other people who thought rather un-lightly of Faye's non-existent singing talent. But, the collie didn't notice, most likely due to her bubbly nature. She handed him the mic, and Jim was able to hook up his MP3 to the device, much to his amazement. Jim went through, and selected the song that he thought would be ideal in a situation as this; 'Eveningstar', by Dragonforce. When the intro sounded, Everyone was waiting in anticipation.

"We will sail on, forever on, to the Land of the Evening Star."

As soon as Jim sung those lyrics, an awesome guitar solo and drum pounding ensued. It got his blood pumping, and so did a majority of the crowd's. Unlike Faye, Jim got the lyrics down pat. It was one of his personal favorites, and was feeling the music fill up every fiber of his being. The crowd was rocking with him as well, and even cheered when he mock-played a guitar with the solos. Even Krystal smiled herself, seeing her friend like this in the first time in a while. Faye was cheering along with the crowd, and Miyu stopped to listen as well. The song went on for over six minutes, and Jim was soaking up every second of it. Krystal was about to telepathically say 'I told you so,' but didn't want to ruin it for him. When it was over, he removed his MP3, but the crowd wasn't satisfied.

"Ya want more?" Jim shouted. They let out with a resounding "YEAH!" and Jim placed his MP3 back in. The next one he selected was 'Soldiers of the Wasteland', another Dragonforce song.

"Burning fast, burning lives on the long distant road, through the lost mountains endless, so far away from home!"

That's when the music heated up, just like before. And just like before, Jim made out with his Jimmy Hendricks impression, wailing on an imaginary guitar, while a crowd of anthros cheered him on. The song was a good deal longer, at least ten minutes long, and the crowd ate up every millisecond. Jim sang out the lyrics, and nailed those almost perfectly as well.

"You weren't kidding, Krys. He does have some music." Miyu said, joining the crowd. She had heard about his planet's fate from Krystal, when she sends her holo-mail to them every once in a while. "Too bad, that we won't hear too much of it." Krystal was filled with a little sadness as well at the thought. Jim shall never again hear another piece written by another of his race, or see another film made by a human, or interact with another human for that matter, for as long as he lives. Krystal was the same, but she met Fox and the others. However, it was easier for her, since the only real physical difference was her blue fur. After a while, she was accepted. But Jim will have it tougher, harder. He's a human, in an anthro's world. 'At least, he has friends here,' Krystal thought, rather hopefully. The song ended, and a rather out-of-breath Jim walked away from the machine, MP3 in hand. He made his way over to the vixen, and some of the other anthros decided to have a go, playing thier own music. Jim stood next to the vixen, who held him tightly by the arm. Jim looked down, and saw the slight evidence of tears forming in her eyes.

"Are you okay?" Jim asked, concerned. She looked at him, eye to eye, and tied to smile through her sadness, but failed.

'I was just thinking, how hard it must be for you. You were right, when you said that I had it easier than you did fitting in here. Even though we do have other races come here, you have no others to go to, other than the Ultras.' Krystal telepathically communicated.

'The Ultras, will forever remain alien to me. they're not a race I would like to spend the rest of my life with.' he replied through thier rapport.

'But, you're part of thier race, yes? You're part Ultra, aren't you?' Jim looked away, his face hardening.

'What is it?' Krystal asked.

'There's something that I must tell you. It's going against the orders I got from my superiors, but, you of all people have the right to know.'

'What is it?' she asked, through the rapport.

'I will tell you, after we have told Faye and Miyu of our real situation. Since the collie has seen what is that I really am, we need to tell them the truth. And then, I will tell you everything. About my time on M78, and my true mission here. But, only in private.'

'Okay. And, I'm glad that you decided to open up with me.' Krystal communicated with a smile. She rested her head on his shoulder, and looked on at the karaoke, while Jim was thinking 'I'm not so sure that you would want to, Krystal. Not after all that I had learned.' But, Jim kept it hidden, secret from his friend. He held her closer than anyone else, and did not wish to hurt her. But, when she learns of the real purpose of why he is here, as well as the real threat that Gorzul represents to the Lylat system, and why he has hidden it, would she still be his friend? The thought nagged at him, and it persisted, even after the hours went by. After everyone had eaten thier fill, and left, the quartet decided to turn in for the night. Everyone slept blissfully, except for Jim, who tossed and turned in his bed, wondering just how he is going to tell Krystal everything.

Somewhere else on Corneria: "You have let the Ultra escape you, after you had underestimated him. And here I thought, that you were capable of just about anything. Or so I was told by my sources." The figure in the recliner was facing the view overlooking Corneria City in the evening. Faust was standing in front of the desk, while Carla and Babalu were standing behind him, arms folded.

"Maybe you're just out of practice. That's it. You just need to get your game together. I am a generous, and easy-going employer, to an extent. I will give you another chance. But do not foul this up. I know how to disable you, permanently if I have to. You will hide out near the area where he resides, and await further instruction from me."

"Yes, sir." Faust disappeared, and all was silent, until the figure spoke up.

The figure turned to the others in the room.

"Have the Star Fox team really abandoned him?"

"Not totally sir. Although, they have taken his brace away, and have been attacked by him after his fight with Faust. However, they will be pursuing him shortly."

"I want him to feel that he has no one else to turn to, I want him to feel totally alone and isolated. Then he will be easy prey."

"One problem with that." Babalu said.

"And what might that be?" Clara asked, challengingly.

"The girl, Krystal. She never leaves his side, even under extreme conditions"

"Well, we'll just have to do something about that, won't we?" the female lupine said, clenching a fist.

"Enough. You both have your orders. Now, leave, and await my signal to carry them out."

As soon as they had both left, Addleson turned back out to gaze at Corneria City, his mind on absolute power being finally his. The thought made him laugh out loud; his face never changing its hard expression, and his mouth just open wide and the laugh escaped him.

Corneria: several hours later; Jim awoke from slumber to the sight of dawn entering the window. He sat up, and yawned. He remembered what it was that Faye had told him, about Krystal and him telling the two about who and what Jim really is. He was sure that he could pull it off with telling them what the Star Fox team was told, but he had to tell Krystal the truth. He just wasn't sure how. He put his uniform back on, after he had it washed along with Krystal's, and went downstairs. Miyu and Krystal were already up, both in bathrobes. Krystal was sitting by the bar separating the dining room and kitchen on a stool, while Miyu was busy in the kitchen itself. Krystal heard the human/Ultra hybrid, and turned, smiling slightly. "Good morning." she said, cheerfully.

"Uh, yeah. 'Morning." Jim replied, not really paying attention. the vixen knew his mind was on telling Faye and Miyu who he really is, and was not looking forward to it. Also, he said that there was something that he wanted to tell her, but was unable to, because it would affect the way she would feel about him. The aforementioned lynx turned to face him, and nodded in acknowledgement, and Jim returned the gesture. He pulled up a stool, and rested his head on his hands, staring off into space, his mind a whirl of thoughts. 'How am I going to explain to these people that I am an Ultra being, with powers beyond thier comprehension? Krystal will be here to help fill in the blanks, sure, but, she's never seen another Ultra besides me before. How am I going to explain M78 and the Space Garrison to them?' Krystal picked up his thoughts, per usual, ad placed a caring hand on his arm. Jim looked down, and looked at Krystal. She gave him an encouraging nod, while telepathically communicating 'Don't worry. We will find a way to explain it all to them. And then, you can tell me what it is that you wanted to tell me, in private.'

'That's what I'm dreading. What I have to tell you, may change your view on the whole subject of me. And, I don't want you to hate me because of it.'

'Jim, how could I ever hate you? You're one of my closest friends, and nothing will change that.'

'I wish that I could believe that.' Krystal pondered at his words, wondering what it was that he was afraid to tell her. Then, the sound of steps squeaking alerted the three of them, and they turned to see Faye come down, in a tank top, short-shorts, and pink slippers. Her snow-white tail was more limp than usual, more than likely because she just woke up from her beauty sleep. She took the seat next to Krystal, and stared at Jim.

"What?" he asked.

"You know what. Start talkin' bub. Exactly, who or what are you."

"Geez, Faye. Are you gonna grill him harder if he doesn't tell you were the body is hidden?" Miyu joked. Krystal shook her head, and sighed.

"We will tell you everything that we can. Right Jim?"

The human/hybrid sighed, and said "I wonder, if we really _can_ explain anything at all to them."

"Look, buddy! We may not be super-evolved mega-rangers like you, but we are pretty sharp when we need to be." Jim laughed at Faye's remark, making the collie a little red under the collar "And what is so funny?"

"What you just said. A 'Super-evolved mega-ranger'. Even though you meant is as jibe, that is what I am, more or less."

Jim explained to them, as best he could, the existence of the race of super-beings called the Ultras, and thier civilization, how they had evolved, and thier determined vow to protect the universe.

The pair took it all in, and Krystal filled in the parts of when he transformed for the first time, and so forth. When they were finished, Faye was a little satisfied, but not totally.

"So, you're part of an advanced society of god-like entities, whose sole purpose is the protection of the universe from evil Armageddon, and that you are thier next chosen warrior for this part of the cosmos. Have I left anything out?"

"Nah, I'd say that you nailed it."

"Well, that certainly does make sense. so, you're pretty much a sort of...police man then, right? Protecting the helpless, and upholding justice, right?"

"Again, I think you nailed it."

"Whoa. How cool is that? I have a friggin' super hero, right in my own home!" Faye exclaimed, happy as a kid in a toy store. Jim and Krystal looked at eachother, and the latter shrugged, while Miyu shook her head in dismay, thinking 'Even in the face of something as significant as this, she never loses her 'charm'.'

"So, you're not, like, a robot or anything, right?"

"For the last frickin' time, no I am not a machine! God, why do people always say that? It's always either a 'power ranger' or 'super robot', and I'm sick of it!" Jim nearly shouted. Krystal covered her laugh with both hands, and Faye did the same.

"I mean, seriously, do I look like a robot! Do I have dials and switches all over my body? Huh?"

"Well, there's the chromed head, glowing eyes, and the 'warning light' on your chest that warns of energy depletion." Faye said, giggling. Jim shot her a look, but the collie ignored it.

"So, where do you get your energy from?" Faye asked, more enthusiastically. Her tail was even wagging, which Jim found amusing, as did Krystal, as she laughed a bit more at her.

"Light, mostly. A strong light or heat source is what my race needs to keep themselves alive."

"And, what happens if your 'warning light' goes out?" Faye asked. Jim paused, trying to choose his words carefully. Normally when an Ultra's warning light goes out from energy depletion, he/she falls into a coma-like state, until they are revitalized again. However, if energy is not given to them soon, they will die. The Star Fox team knows this already, and Krystal dreads the day when that particular situation befalls him.

"Nothing nice," is all he could get out.

"Oh." Faye replied. Miyu served them breakfast, but Jim hardly ate anything, thinking about how he was going to tell Krystal what it is that he really knows, and the real truth behind him, M78, and Gorzul.

"Are you in position, Faust?"

"Ready, and waiting, sir." Faust was waiting in the tree line, just behind Faye and Miyu's home. He was clenching a fist, hearing the words 'Mass destruction, but no size-changing. We do not want the military to converge on an impossible-to-miss target'. He knew the strategy, but it didn't mean that he had to like it. It shouldn't be long now. He took a seat on the soil, cloaking himself, and waited patiently for the opportunity to present itself.

After a couple of hours, Faye and Miyu decided to leave for the shopping center. They asked if Jim and Krystal wanted to come, but they refused, stating that they had unfinished business to discuss. When both of them had left, Krystal turned to Jim. The vixen was wearing a light blue dress, and her tiara. Jim was standing near the sliding-glass door, looking out at the mountain range beyond, but with his mind focused on the things that he had to tell Krystal.

"Well, we are alone, as you wanted. Now, what is it, that makes you so afraid that I will hate you?" she asks, slightly smiling.

"Let's go out back." Jim opened the sliding door, and stepped out. Krystal followed.

"Krystal, I haven't exactly been honest with you, or the rest of the team, about M78."

"How do you mean?"

"The M78 that I am from does exist in the fourth galaxy, but not on this plane of reality."

"What?" she asked, getting more confused. Jim had her back to her, but he turned around, his face hard and serious.

"M78 exists in another reality, called the Ultra-verse. And, that is where I am from."

"Another...reality?" Krystal was having trouble believing what it was that she was hearing, but she felt that Jim was being sincere, not holding anything back from her.

"Twenty years ago, by your measurement of time, a great evil befell my world of M78. An evil we know as Gorzul. It absorbed the spirits and souls of living things, and used that spiritual energy to sustain itself through the ages. It attacked the Land of Light, and that's when Gorzul was finally defeated, but not without a cost. The loss of life to us, was appalling to say the least. We imprisoned it, for what we hoped would be an eternity. But, fate had other ideas. That is when I came into this. I was a child growing up on M78 with my father, learning how to be a soldier like him. I remember a voice, beckoning me to it, calling my name. I followed it, all the way to the forbidden area of M78, where we keep the spirits of malevolent forces in check and imprisoned, until they can be properly disposed of. The voice promised me a great power, rivaling that of Zoffy's, the Garrison's commander, and strongest fighter. I was a child, and the idea of being more powerful than my father's superior, was tantalizing to say the least. It told me that the only way for me to receive such power, was to give it a part of myself, little knowing that _that_ is what it wanted all along. When I did so, when I gave up a part of myself to it willingly and without hesitation, Gorzul's evil had been unleashed once more upon us. You see, the only way he could have been released, was with the power of an innocent, and he manipulated me to do just that. When Gorzul was free, I felt an enormous amount of evil power flow over me, like an arctic wind over my bare body. It wasn't long, before the Garrison arrived, to try to contain the evil spirit. But, it was hopeless. Gorzul escaped, leaving destruction in his wake. All of them turned to me, and they blamed me. All of the Ultras who either witnessed the spectacle, or took part in Gorzul's attempted capture, blamed me for its release. and you wanna know something? They're right! I released Gorzul! I have the blood of those who died at his hands, at the time, on mine…" Jim had tears in his eyes as he said this, and was remembering all of it, all of the Ultras looking at him, and accusing him of releasing the evil. Krystal felt sadness well up in her.

"But, there were two of them who did not. One was my father, and another was Sheja, a close friend of mine. Sheja was the one who was going to teach me how to be a member of the Space Garrison. Both of them knew of my innocence, but it did not change the fact, that I released hell upon the universe. Sheja volunteered to go after the entity itself, to try to bring it back before it could hurt anyone. I secretly followed him, hoping to try to help him, and to make up for the misdeed that I had committed. But, Gorzul would not be satisfied with just this universe, for it had discovered one of our most carefully kept secrets. The Ultra race had long surmised that all of the realities existed with eachother, side by side, separated by a thin temporal wall. All that was needed, was to find a way through that wall. We found it, in the form of a naturally-made rift in space/time. the rift, which we call the Gateway, was maintained by us for over a thousand years. Over time, we had begun to spread our numbers across these realities, to uphold the beliefs that we hold in our own universe; the protection and freedoms of all sentient life-forms. However, it would be used this time to unleash chaos into the eternity of eternities. It wound up in your universe, and us with it. It wasn't until later that Sheja realized that I had followed him. He got very angry at that. He and I were stranded in an unfamiliar cosmos. We wondered around, until we came across something that surprised us both; an Earth-like world, in a system with ten planets, and inhabited by beings much like yourself."

"Lylat! You came to the Lylat system!" Krystal nearly gasped. Jim sadly nodded his head.

"That was also where, we encountered Gorzul. Sheja sent me away in his Travel sphere, destined for some faraway world, away from Gorzul's notice, while my close friend sealed his fate, in going against Gorzul. I ended up on another Earth, much like the Earth that we have in the Ultra-verse. When I entered thier atmosphere, I could feel it leeching my life from my body. I traveled, unseen and undetected, to the American continent. I was the size of a human child when I landed, to conserve as much energy as possible. Using the stealth techniques that Sheja had taught me, I was able to bend light around me, rendering me invisible to the human eye. I wandered around this strange new place, until I ran into a hospital. I went inside, and looked around. In one of the maternity wards, there was an infant, whose fate was sealed. Destined to die from a birth defect, I was filled with sadness, and did the only thing I felt was right; I combined my life-force with the infant in hopes to save him, and I was reborn as Jim Andrew Howards Jr."

Jim turned to face Krystal, and looked at her through tear stained eyes. "I didn't tell you any of this, because I did not think that you would believe me, but with the existence of Gorzul apparent, and my responsible for his release, I did not want you to hate me for a mistake that I had made, all those years ago. I found this out, back on M78, when I went there for the first time since I met you, and regained my memories. The people there still did not forgive me, and even blame me for Sheja's demise." the tears flowed more freely this time.

"Zoffy allowed me to become a member of the Garrison, much to everyone's chagrin and disapproval. That was then that I decided to return to your reality. I came back, not to help protect it, but to escape all of the stones and arrows that my own race has thrown at me. And, I kept it all from you, because I did not want you to think me responsible for all of the deaths and pain that Gorzul had caused because of me. Gorzul was the one who brought Babalu and Faust here, and is the one controlling these monsters. And I'm just...trying to make things right again." He turned away from her, ashamed. Then, he felt two, soft furred hands take the sides of his face, and bring them up to look into emerald eyes. They were the softest that he has ever known, and was melted by them.

"Jim, no matter what you did in the past, nothing will ever change the fact that you are my friend. You were only a child then, not really knowing what it was that you were doing. How could you have known?"

"Tell that to my race, who has shun me now."

"Well, then, they're wrong about you. The Ultra that I know and fought side by side with, would never, ever, let anything bad happen to any innocent being. Your actions, thoughts, and heart have proven that, time and again. If no one else sees it, at least I know who you really are." Jim could not halt the flow of tears coming down his face, nor did he try to.

"One other thing."

"What is it?"

"How much, do you care about me?"

"What kind of a question is that?" Krystal asked, amused again.

"Because, I want to know what it is that you truly feel about me. I know that it is more than just friendship. I have felt it from you. It is deeper than just that. I need to know, what you feel about me." Krystal was caught off gaurd by this. She did feel for him, more so than any of the other team members, including Fox, much to her surprise. But she never really thought about it, until now. Was he really the one for her? Were they destined for eachother. Across the reaches of time and space, was thier meeting and relationship not the cause of chance, but by design? 'Only one way to find out,' the blue vixen thought. She pressed her face against the human/Ultra's, and thier lips met. For the longest time, even though Jim was caught off gaurd, neither of them moved. When Krystal did pull away, she looked at Jim, eye-level, and smiled slightly. Jim returned it, and felt her head rest against his, as she laid hers on his shoulder.

"I think, that I got my answer." Jim said, fighting back more tears. For the first time in a long while, he felt like he was where he truly belonged. Both human/Ultra and vixen held eachother for what seemed like an eternity, oblivious to the evil watching them intently.


	18. Ultraman Captured!

Chapter 18

Ultraman Jim Captured!

"Fox, we are now nearing Cornerian airspace. The local security forces are asking for the IFF signal, and proper identification" ROB notified, in a monotone voice.

"Send them the info. We need to find Jim and Krystal, and soon."

"Do you still believe that he will use his power against us?" Peppy asked.

"Yeah. Even though you did kinda stab him in the back, this is Jim we're talkin' about here. I'm sure that he'll forgive ya." Slippy added, hope creeping in his high-pitched voice.

The only one who remained silent, was Falco. He was busy over at his console, arbitrarily pressing buttons and such, making it look like he was doing something.

'Even though I never really liked him at first, he kinda started to grow on me. Weird, since that's hardly ever happened to me.' the avian thought, while going over his console. The Great Fox entered the atmosphere, and began its descent on the Cornerian capital. When properly moored in the docks, the team set out for the CACC. After reaching the large structure, Fox and co. entered the building, and proceeded to General Pepper's office. The door was open, which was unusual, even for the old hound. Fox knocked on the ajar door, and the General's head shot up from the stack of papers and files he was going over.

"Ah, Fox, good to see you. Please, come in." General Pepper invited. The team entered the office, and stood in front of the desk, while General Pepper was going over the reports. After a while, he looked up, a slightly amused expression played across his wizened muzzle.

"So, Jim has finally left Star Fox, eh?" he asked, nonchalantly.

"How'd you know about that?" Slippy nearly shouted.

"I've been monitoring your logs and security systems, thanks to an old friend."

"A necessary, if not underhanded, job, sir." Peppy said. the team members looked at him, surprised.

"In any case, we may, indeed, have a serious problem on our hands here. Since Fox confiscated Jim's Brace, he has found a new way to transform."

"We saw that, General. He nearly tore the Great Fox apart with his bare hands." Fox said.

"And quite frankly, I wouldn't blame him. I know that something like Jim would be intimidating at first, but after what you did, I'm surprised there's a Star Fox left, much less a Great Fox. We need to know exactly _who_ or _what_ is behind these monster appearances. It's more than just Cornerian security, it's a matter of preserving all life in the Lylat system. If we don't find out what the heck is going on here, what may happen next might make the Aparoid Invasion look like a beach-party."

Corinthia city, at that time: Jim was being shown around the city by Krystal. The two moved up and down each street and lane there was, as Krystal showed him the sights. 'It's like Corneria City all over again," Jim thinks amusingly. Krystal gave him a humored glance, as both of them walked leisurely down a sidewalk. Even though the anthros were still not used to his appearance, Jim was finally getting used to the attention. Sure, there were other non-Lylats around, but none looked quite like him. However, unbeknownst to the couple, an entity was following them intently.

Faust, in his human size, was floating several meters above them. In order to not be spotted, he was in his cloaked state, bending the light around him. Also, he kept his mind shielded from the vixen and human/Ultra hybrid. He was waiting for the perfect opportunity to strike, to cause as much damage as possible, with one limitation; no size changing. Faust didn't know what was going through his employer's mind, but the more he decided to think about it, the more it made sense; should Zenith try to go giant on him, it will only give the Cornerian Military an easy target to have a little practice with. And since it would look like he's trying to destroy the city, in his vain attempts at disposing Faust, the people would label him as an invader, and will lose any trust that they had in him, 'If at all.' Faust thought with a chuckle. When the pair entered a busy street, that's when Faust decided to act; after touching down on the ground and still cloaked, he looked around, and saw a couple of hover-vehicles side-parked next to a side-walk. 'Time to have some fun,' he thought, internally smiling evilly.

Jim's warning sense kicked itself into over-drive, almost blaring inside his skull. Krystal picked this up, and gave her friend a concerned look upon seeing his pained expression. Then, a loud explosion knocked them to the ground, momentarily stunning them. When they got back on thier feet, they turned, and saw several vehicles explode randomly, as if by spontaneous combustion. Smoke was trailing from the wreckage, and the form that emerged from the smoke, made Jim's blood boil. emerging from the smoke, as if from behind a curtain, was Faust, walking leisurely, as if enjoying himself, which he was.

"How do you like my dramatic entrance, Zenith? Not as showy as I'd like, but effective none the less." Faust said, gesturing around him. Krystal pulled out her staff, her lips curled up in a snarl.

"How adorable. The pet, protecting its master. He he he he he. Better put a tighter leash on her. Wouldn't want anything...unsightly happen to such a pretty little thing, now would we?" Faust said. He was speaking in Japanese, but both Ultra and vixen understood him fine, and Krystal felt a burning rage from inside her. Ultra or no, she will teach him a very hard lesson. Jim put his arm in front of her, making Krystal stay behind him. She gave him a surprised look, and understood. Krystal lowered her staff, but did not return it. Jim stepped forward, and spoke.

"What do you want, Faust? Are you here to try to capture me again, like last time?"

"That was a fluke. But this time, the advantage is mine. So, let's do this, shall we?"

Jim answered by raising his right hand, and clenching his fist. Light swirled around it for a moment, until his whole body was as if it were made of light itself. Then, Jim raised his right hand, and a flash emanated from his being. Krystal had to shield her eyes from the brilliance, but when it subsided, what she saw made her feel reassured; standing a few meters from Faust, was Ultraman Zenith, in his 'normal form', with the red boxers and glowing yellow eyes.

"Why take that form? What happened to your other one?" Faust asked.

"I don't need that power to deal with you. This form will do just nicely." Jim replied, getting in his combat stance. Faust answered by getting in his own stance. Both Ultras circled eachother, waiting for the other to make the first strike. Faust was the first one to act, sending an energy shot Jim's way. The red and silver warrior swatted it away with his right hand, and charged at Faust.

CACC, at that time: "Fox, take a look at this!" Slippy shouted. The team was in the reception center, waiting for any news of where Jim might be. Slippy was flipping through channels on the monitor, when he came across the news bulletin. As all four of them gathered around the monitor, Fox's jaw dropped when he saw it; Jim was in his Ultra form, fighting another Ultra.

'What's going on? There's two of them, now?' Fox wondered while everyone was staring at the screen. The news announcer was going on about how two aliens were fighting in downtown Corinthia, but the four pretty much ignored most of it, except for the Corinthia part.

"Guys, we need to get down there, now!" Falco nearly shouted. That's when the three of them bolted out of the door, and Peppy remained behind, still staring at the screen, wondering if Jim really was changing. The sight of him fighting Faust and explosions happening everywhere seemed to confirm that something was definitely wrong.

Corinthia: The duel between Jim and Faust was raging in the streets, with explosions raging from thier energy blasts, and vehicles going up in flames. However, unlike most of his other battles, which were in giant form, Jim and Faust were duking it out human-sized. Then, Jim was making a gesture; intent on ending this pointless game, he placed his hands on the opposite sides of his warning light. Faust saw this, and knew what it was that Jim was planning; "Wait!"

"Hm?"

"Are you sure that is wise on your part? Even if you increase your size, I will not."

"And why is that?" Jim asked, dropping his arms.

"Hm hm hm hm. Because the people here will see you, watching you destroy everything around you, in your vain attempts at trying to destroy me. You'll only be presenting yourself as an over-sized bull's eye for the native military forces."

Jim paused, taking in what the Dark Ultra was saying. 'He's right. If I increase my size now...'

Jim got back into his combat stance, and both warriors circled eachother. Krystal was watching from behind a pile of rubble, not too far away. People were running away from the pair. A child dropped her doll, and reached for it, but her mother pulled her along. When both of them had found shelter with others, in the form of a ruined office building, they watched on in terror as the duel between the alien beings waged. The child, however, could only focus on the doll. Jim rushed at Faust with a drop-kick, which Faust avoided, and countered with a round-house kick to Jim's silvery face. The red and silver warrior doubled back, caught off gaurd, and was met with two solid blows to his midsection. Faust tried a spin-kick, but Jim caught it with both of his hands, and swept Faust's other leg out from under him, making him fall. Then, Jim did an elbow-drop on Faust's leg. The satisfying snap of bone was heard, followed by a pained cry from his opponent, and the onlookers winced with the Dark Ultra. Jim then grabbed his opponent by the neck, and dragged him to his feet. Then, he shoulder-tossed him several feet away, making him land on the windshield of an automobile. Jim looked back at the onlookers, who cowered when the Ultra saw them. Jim shifted his gaze back to Faust, who was recovering from the assault. Jim got back into his combat stance, and ran at Faust, and he locked hands with the Dark Ultra.

'Now,' the child thought. She ran out into the street while the fighters were distracted. The people tried to grab the child, but they reacted too late. The mother tried to grab for her, but were restrained by the terrified people. Even her pleas and cries fell upon deaf ears, as they did not want to attract the attention of the two raging aliens. As soon as the child, a young girl badger, reached her doll, she picked it up, smiling openly. Faust saw this, and Jim looked behind him, horrified. Then, Faust kneed Jim in the abdomen, and the red and silver warrior doubled over, and was met with a straight to his face, flooring him to the ground. Faust was walking over to the girl, as Jim struggled to his feet.

The girl noticed a shadow looming over her, and looked up. What she saw, made her blood run cold. She tried to run, but was held in place by invisible bonds. As she struggled against them, she was levitated up into the air.

"MOMMYYYY!"

"NOOOO!" The mother looked on in horror as the child was in the air, helpless before the dark one.

"Hm hm hm hm hm. Look at this Zenith." Jim got up, and gasped in fear. The child was crying, while floating in a sphere of lavender.

"Let her go! This is between you and me!" Jim shouted.

"True. But, I'm an opportunist. Which would you prefer; her death by obliteration, or suffocation?" Suddenly, the girl was coughing, and was holding her throat, as if she couldn't breathe.

"NOO! Let her go, you SON OF A BITCH!" Jim roared.

"Tsk tsk tsk. Such language in front of a child. Now, will you surrender, or will you have this child's blood on your hands?"

Jim looked down, his hands clenched tightly. There was no choice for him.

"Fine. You win. Just, please, let her go." Jim said, quietly. Faust chuckled evilly, and instead of releasing her, he raised his hand, and it glowed with energy. What made it worse, was that it was pointed at the sphere with the little girl, who stopped choking. Jim looked up in horror, and shouted "NOOO!"

Just then, several red energy blasts shot out from nowhere, and hit Faust in the back. The Dark Ultra grabbed behind him, and grunted in pain. Jim looked past the dark one, and saw Krystal holding her staff out, a grin on her face. Jim nodded at her, and ran at Faust. After planting a solid kick to his face, he scooped the girl up, and took her to Krystal, where she will be better protected from the dark one. "Take care of her," he said. Krystal nodded. Jim shifted his gaze back to Faust, and flew at him.

Enraged by his cowardly act, Jim relentlessly pounded his fists against Faust's silvery visage. Each punch made the Dark Ultra stumble back, and encouraging Jim to press his attack. Then, getting in a boxer's like stance, he struck time and again in the dark one's mid-section, making him double over with almost every strike. Jim was ruthless, striking in his face and abs. Faust could only try to block against an angered Warrior of Light, but his defenses proved little against him. soon, a powerful cross sent Faust sprawling to the ground. Faust looked up, and saw Jim raise his right hand, energy gathering into it.

"SPACIUMMU-"

Jim swung his right hand down, and placed both of his arms in a cross shape, meeting at the wrist, left arm in front of the right.

"KOUSEN!"

A blue\white beam of light erupted from the edge of his right hand, and struck Faust solidly in his chest, causing explosions on contact, while Faust writhed in pain on the ground. Even though his warning light was flashing a steady red, and the chime sounded, Jim did not let up, not until Faust was gone for good. It wasn't until that the flashing sped up, and the chime constant, did Jim drop the beam, and fell to a knee, panting loudly. Faust was no better off, as his own warning light was flashing in the same manner as Jim's. After struggling to his feet, Faust stumbled away from the Ultra, and said "Soon, my red and silver friend. Very soon, you will know what true despair really is." Then, he vanished. Jim got up, and looked around. There was no sign of the Dark Ultra, but the destruction everywhere was apparent, with buildings destroyed, and cars left as smoldering ruins. Jim walked to where the child and Krystal were hiding.

"Are you alright?" he asked. Krystal nodded, and looked down at the girl badger, whom she kept close to the blue vixen. Jim looked down, and knelt to her eye-level.

"What's your name?" he asked gently.

"Sally." she replied, rather quietly. "And this is Karen." she said, holding up the doll.

"Well, I'm glad that both of you are alright." Jim replied, relief creeping into his voice.

"Actually, Karen got hurt by the bad man." Sally said, holding up one of the doll's arms, which had a large tear in it.

"Hmmm, maybe I can help." Jim said, after looking at the tear closer. He placed a hand over his blinking warning light, which flashed as he did so, and placed the hand over the doll's arm. Immediately after, light swirled out of the hand, and covered the arm. After a moment, the light dissipated, and the tear was gone. the girl looked, and beamed at Jim. Then, she embraced him in as large a hug as her small body would allow. Krystal was watching this, smiling openly. Jim got up, carrying the child over to where the onlookers were. After stopping a few yards away from them, he set the girl down gently, and the child ran forward, and so did her mother. The mother knelt down, and embraced her daughter tightly. She looked up at the red and silver warrior, and whispered "Thank you." Jim nodded, and turned away, walking from them. When he was a few yards from them, he looked up, and with a loud "SHUWATCH!" he was flying towards Krystal, and he picked her up. And soon, both of them were flying away into the sky. Both mother and daughter were watching them go, as the girl was waving them away, then waved one of the doll's arms away at them as well.

At the same time, over the city, Fox and co. were flying over the remains of the city district. The three of them looked on in dismay.

"Well, it could've been a lot worse." Slippy said, trying to as optimistic as ever.

"What I'm wondering, is what that was that Jim was fighting. It looked like an Ultra, but different." Peppy said, over thier head-sets.

"It looks like Jim may have an evil twin. Not surprising, since it comes with the super-hero territory." Falco jibed. Just then, a red and silver blur with a blue form shot past them.

"Holy-that was them!" Slippy exclaimed. All three of the arwings turned around, and pursued the two. After gunning thier engines, the fighters were able to catch up to Jim and Krystal. both of them looked right and left, as the occupants of the fighters looked at them, and pointed downward, an indication that they wanted them to land. But Jim had other ideas. After coming to a dead stop, the arwings shot past them. When they turned around, both Ultra and vixen disappeared.

"Where'd they go?" Falco shouted. "Geez, what a pain!"

"Everyone, try to scan for him. He's got to be here somewhere.

On the ground, Jim was bending light around both himself and Krystal, rendering them invisible. When he touched down, Jim dropped the camouflage, and was breathing heavily.

"Jim, you need to revert now." Krystal said, concern in her voice.

"I can't. Not until I've led them away from us."

"But why? Why are we running from them?" she asked.

"Because, Fox is still after me. Until we can resolve the amenity between us, we areas foes. I promise, I won't hurt them, but I must lead them away from us." Krystal looked down, as if to consider.

"Please, Krystal." Jim pleaded, placing his hands on her shoulders. She looked up, and into his glowing yellow eyes, and saw the person underneath, and felt his sincerity. She nodded, and Jim returned it. Then, Jim was in the air like a shot. He flew past the arwings, who immediately pursued him. Soon, he was out of the atmosphere, and into space. He felt the warm solar energy given off by Lylat, the largest star out of the two stars in the system. He felt it, and he felt its energy flow into him, easing his aching body, and filling him with new vigor. His warning light went from a rapidly flashing red, to a steady, glowing blue. Right now, Jim felt like he could take on anything. And when the three arwings got into view, he got into his combat stance, ready for action.

"He can't be serious." Falco said.

"Jim, Listen to us! We're your friends!" Slippy pleaded.

'Since when did friends stab eachother in the back like that?' Jim asked, telepathically. Neither of them had an answer for that.

'That's what I thought.'

Jim never lowered his guard, and was anticipating what it was that his former teammates would do. ' I will say this once, and once only; If you try to follow me, I'll not hesitate to shoot any and all of you down.' Jim communicated through telepathy. The rest of the team could not believe thier ears.

"You try that, even Krystal won't forgive you." Fox said.

"I know. So please, don't make it come to that." Jim replied. As soon as he was finished talking, Jim flew past them, and headed for the planet's surface. Fox and co. were still in orbit, taking in all that Jim had said to them.

"He wouldn't really try to shoot us down, would he?" Slippy asked, sounding a little fearful. None of them could blame him. On the planet's surface, Krystal was monitoring the conversation by her own telepathic abilities, and was more than a little shocked herself. When Jim landed next to her, he reverted back to his human form, and nearly collapsed. Krystal rushed over to him, holding him as gently as possible. Jim looked up, and smiled at the face looking down at him. Krystal did not return it, her own vulpine visage was one of worry.

"Jim, did you mean what you said? About, not hesitating to soot them down should they try to follow you?" Krystal asked, afraid of the answer. Jim got up, uneasily, and faced his friend.

"I hope not, Krystal. Dear God, I really hope not." He turned away, leaning against a tree. They were in a wooded area, not far from Corinthia City. Jim was still panting heavily, not used to absorbing that much solar energy that quickly.

"I can't keep doing this, love. I just can't." he said, sounding tired.

"Then why not just turn yourself over to Fox, then. I'm sure that he'll-"

"No. That's not what I meant. I meant, I can't keep going like this, waiting for the next opponent to show, and me having to fight it. Too may people are getting hurt, and it's not getting any better. I can't keep fighting like this. For God's sake, that little girl almost got killed today!" Jim nearly shouted. Krystal came up from behind him, and embraced him, resting her head on his shoulder.

"Then, what should we do?" Krystal asked.

"No, not 'we', just me."

"What?"

"Faust said that someone wants me. I think it's time to give that someone what he wants." Krystal pulled away, and Jim turned to face her.

"Jim, you can't be serious! You don't know who or what is waiting for you!"

"It's better than waiting around for the next guy to show up, looking for a fight. A child barely got out with her life. Next time, it might be another child, or two, or three, or an entire population that suffers. I can't let that happen. I can't let innocent people become victims to my battles. I need to end this, and now." Krystal didn't want to, but she knew he had a point. They were lucky this time. Next time...

"Come on. Let's head back to Faye and Miyu's." she said finally. That was something that Jim agreed to as well. And so, both Ultra and vixen made the long walk back to Corinthia.

Great Fox, a few hours later: Fox was still rooted to the captain's chair. He had taken in everything that Jim had said, and was wondering if he had made the right choice, when he decided to listen to the Ultra. Everyone was gone, either in thier rooms, or doing various tasks around the ship. But even if they were around, he'd still feel alone, just like now. Fox wondered what it was that made him want to go against Jim in the first place. He looked inside himself, and he believes he found it; jealousy. He felt jealous of the young man, for being able to handle the situations, even taking credit in some of them, and leaving the team in the dust. He felt this, and he let his head slump into his hands.

Faye and Miyu's pad, approximately the same time: "That...was...AWESOME!" Faye was watching the latest news bulletin, and the snow-white collie could hardly contain her excitement. She was digesting the fight scene between Jim and Faust, and her face was practically touching the screen.

"So, is that, like, a bad-guy Ultra or something? He looks like you, except for the black and all, and that you totally powned him!"

"Yeah, I guess that you could say that." Jim said, rather uneasily. He still hasn't gotten used to Faye's cheerful and bubble-headed nature yet. 'She acts like a child herself, sometimes,' Jim thought amusingly.

"What did that guy want, anyway?" Miyu asked.

"Well, duh! He wanted to take Jim on, and he lost, big time!"

"Well, you're half right. He was sent there, to try to capture me."

"Capture you? what for?"

"I don't know. That's what I need to find out."

"So, what are you gonna do? Look for some super-secret hideout?" Faye asked, excitedly. Jim thought for a moment, and said "Give them what they want. If they want me, then they should know where to find me."

"Wait, wait. You mean, just give up? Just like that?" Faye asked, not believing her own fur-covered ears.

"Of course not, Faye. Jim has a plan, right?" Krystal said, turning to the Ultra/human.

"Something like that. What I plan to do, is to let them take me to where they're holing up, and maybe get some answers about what the hell is going on around here. Once inside, you three will be tailing me to thier base, and see if you can't bring as much hardware as you possibly can. Not only will you be dealing with armed security, but most likely Babalu, and Dark Faust as well."

"You mean, tall, dark, and ugly that you beat? But, we saw him get vaporized on the news." Miyu said.

"Trust me, that guy is not dead, not yet. Also, he'll have accomplices as well."

"Okay, got it. But we're missing one thing."

"Oh, yeah? And what's that?" Jim asked.

"How are we going to get them to take you?" Miyu asked.

"They got people around. Hell, they're probably close by." Jim got up, and walked to the sliding glass door. He was staring out of it, and into the wood line and mountain range. He turned back to face the female trio.

"Krystal mentioned that you two got some type of new class of arwings."

"That's right! They're the latest 'Arwing Interceptor class', the fastest thing in the sky! It can out-fly, out-maneuver, and out-shine just about anything." Faye said, with a hint of pride in her voice.

"So, they're built for speed, eh? not so much on defense then." Jim said, rubbing his chin in a thoughtful way.

"Well, we've been trying to boost the shield rating, but so far, no such luck. No matter what we try, everything we do compromises a system, or feature." Miyu said, rather dismayed.

"I take it that you maintain them." Jim said.

"Like I trust _her_ with a monkey-wrench near my ship. The day that I let her perform maintenance on my fighter, is the day I decide to give myself a total lobotomy." Miyu said. Jim chuckled at the remark.

"So, what do you have in the way of weaponry?" Jim asked. Faye and Miyu looked at eachother, and smiled. Both of them got up, and made thier way to the far side of the room, to a door. Faye opened it, and gestured for the human and vixen to head down the stair-way leading from the entrance. Once the quartet made it down to the bottom of the steps, a light flicked on, and what Jim saw made him whistle in an impressed manner; the room was at least as large as the house itself, only that it was filled with almost every type of arsenal and weaponry that one could imagine. 'It's like a red-neck's wet dream down here,' Jim thought amusingly. The walls held small-arms and rifles, while several tables had tools, and weapon parts, and a whole wall held nothing but heavy artillery. And that's when he saw them, the Interceptor class Arwing. Looking almost exactly like the arwings that Star Fox has, these models looked slimmer, and more streamlined, a direct implication that they were definitely built for speed. Jim got near one, to inspect it, when Faye said "You try, you die," in a sing-song kind of way. Jim looked at her, and nodded, smirking slightly.

'Did you know about this?' Jim asked Krystal though thier rapport.

'No. I haven't been down here before.' Krystal replied, looking at all the weapons strewn across the room.

"Not only is it our armory, but it also serves as our garage and launch-pad." Miyu said.

"How'd you afford all of this?" Jim asked

"You can thank my Uncle Pepper for that." Faye said, beaming widely.

"Pepper? As in _General_ Pepper?" Jim asked, amazement in his voice. Faye nodded enthusiastically. Jim blinked twice, and shrugged.

"Hey, I just thought of something; since you guys are out of Star Fox, does that mean that you'll be joining us?" Faye asked.

"Not really. This is just a temporary set up, until the issue between me and Fox clears up."

"Fox again, huh? so what'd that fuzzy idiot do this time?" Miyu asked, folding her arms.

"He became a paranoid, delusional prick, that's what!" Jim nearly shouted. This caught the girls off-gaurd, as Jim remembers how Fox confiscated his Brace, in an attempt to suppress him. He was breathing heavily as he remembered his words.

'He's no better than the monsters he fights!' Jim's fists were clenched tightly, and his body tensed. Krystal sensed this, and placed a caring hand on Jim. The human looked at her, and saw her smiling at him, sympathetically. Jim returned it as best he could. Breaking the moment, Miyu picked up a micro-chip looking device, and handed it to Jim.

"What's this?"

"Tracking device. It's inserted into the skin, and it transmits a coded signal that is undetectable by conventional means. Trust me, we'll need this if we're going to tail you." Jim nodded, and rolled up his sleeve. Miyu took the device back, and inserted it into a hypo-spray looking device, and placed it over the bare flesh of his arm. After a hissing sound, Jim tensed at the sudden itch, and rolled his sleeve down. Jim nodded at her, and she returned it.

"So, when does this daring little covert op begin?" Faye asked, getting excited.

"Immediately." Jim said, with a grin of his own. He could hardly wait to tear the bastard who's been giving him so much hell apart.

Corinthia, an hour later: Jim was walking down a parking lot, anthros and non-Lylats walking around him. He knew that he felt someone here. 'Someone or something,' he thinks. It flares up again, and he jogs to where his warning sense tells him. After about several kilometers, he stops by an entrance to an underground parking lot. Seeing no one around, he converts to his Ultra form, and runs inside. After passing several vehicles in a yellow-lit parking lot, he stops by an unused part of the lot, turning to where the signal is strongest, and feels a familiar presence.

"Come out, Babalu! I know you're here!" Jim shouts, in his distorted voice. Babalu comes out, laughing loudly.

"You're such an idiot. You're cornered here." the invader states, and emphasizes by pointing at him. "Did you come here to surrender?"

"Yes."

"Ha ha ha ha ha. So, the crazy plan worked after all. My employer knew that having you fight us would wear on you. Not to mention put innocents at risk, something which you cannot tolerate. He knew that, sooner or later, you would have to relent."?

"Enough talk! Just, get this over with." Jim said.

"Oh, with pleasure." As soon as he said this, Babalu's mouth opened, and his freezing-breath enveloped Jim. the red and silver warrior tried to shield himself, but it was in vain. Of all the things thrown against him, one of the few things that proved successful was extreme cold. In moments, Jim was frozen in a block of ice, and he blacked out.

Unknown area: Jim opened his eyes slowly, the glare of the over-head light hurting his eyes. Once they were accustomed to the glare, he looked around. He was bound to a table, chains around his wrists and ankles. He saw that the room he was in was bare, save for a monitor on the wall his right. Then, a door opened, and Jim saw two figures in lab coats, escorted by a couple of guards, and waited for them to make thier move. The scientists did nothing, except move over to the monitor, and tapped it several times, and saying something to eachother, otherwise ignoring him completely. Thier task done, the pair left the room, and shut the door behind them. All he could do, is wait.

Unknown area, same time: "We got him, sir. the Ultra is being held in sector 3-7." A gaurd said in Addleson's pad. "Good. Soon, ultimate power and immortality will be mine." As he switched off the device, his mind was awhirl of memories; he was one of the foremost minds in genetic engineering, notably in life-prolongation. Fifty years ago, he cornered the field, and even to this day his methods are being practiced and used, making people live longer, and younger. However, there came a time, when he got too ambitious. His experiments became more and more...extreme. One of his last experiments, before being dismissed from the Scientific Research and Development group, killed the patient, and in his short madness, severely wounded several others. He was removed from the field, but by using his own funds and inheritance, he used his own experiments on himself to prolong his own life as much as possible, to get revenge on those who kicked him out. Now, this 'Ultra' had fallen into his backyard. After receiving information from a reliable source about him, he decided to focus on him, to see if he can't use him to gain his own goals. He can't wait to personally start experimenting on him.

'Soon, very soon, I will have the means to carry out my vengeance, and rebuild this city, no, this _planet_ in my own image!' Addleson thought with glee. The idea brought droves of laughter from him.

Unknown Area: Jim didn't have to wait long, for the next scientist to arrive. This time, it was a Labrador in a lab coat, and with a syringe. He stuck it into his arm, and Jim flinched at the pain in his arm as he took a blood sample from him.

"Hey! What the hell is this?" Jim asked, when he was done. The scientist ignored him, and went outside of the door, leaving Jim to wonder what it was that they were doing. He tried to convert, but he knew that his captors would have defense in place, just in case he would try something like that. As soon as he tried to summon his energy, his head was hit by a splitting headache, and a high-pitched wail assaulted his ears. As soon as he suppressed his power, the assault ended.

'Well, looks like I won't be getting out of here for a while,' he thought rather dismally. He decided to try to contact Krystal through his rapport. Fortunately, no barrage ensued. He sent her a telepathic signal, and hoped that she would receive it. Then, he closed his eyes, and tried to get some sleep. It must have been only an hour or so, since the door opened when he was drifting off to sleep. The person who walked in, wasn't a scientist. At least, no scientist he has seen yet. The person was also a Labrador, dressed in a businessman's outfit with a bright red tie.

"Afternoon. How do you like our hospitality so far?" he asked, gesturing around the bare room. Jim looked around.

"The furnishing isn't bad, but the service here is lousy." he replied. The lab smiled openly.

"I'll have to remember that. Now, on to the business at hand. The reason why you are here, is because you are...unique."

"Tell me something I don't know. I know that you have been monitoring me while I was fighting. Now, I wanna know why." Jim said plainly.

"Very well. As I said, you are unique. Out of all of the beings in the universe, you are the only one who has achieved a state of near perfection. An immortal, if you will. My employer would very much like to know, where it is that you come from."

"As if I'd tell him that. Go tell your boss, that he can go shove his own head up his ass before I'd tell him anything about where I'm from."

"He knew you'd say something like that. That's why we have prepared in advance. We already have started the cloning process, and soon, will have subjects to begin testing." Jim's head shot toward the lab, and his eyes went wide.

"What do you mean, 'cloning process'?"

"Well, we were fortunate enough to collect some of your cells from your previous battles, most notably from Doragon and Angorian. It would appear, that even an immortal can bleed after all." Jim was still having problems grasping the fact that he was being cloned, by some unknown, twisted maniac.

"Okay, I'll buy the sci-fi bull for now, just tell me, who the hell is behind all of this?"

"Why, the great Professor Addleson, of course. Surely, you have met with one of his GELFS already." The lab said, in a matter-of-factly tone.

'So, the good doctor is behind this, eh? I'll have to remember to look this guy up.' Jim thinks.

"I don't suppose that you'll be gracious enough to supply me with info on his whereabouts, would ya?" he asked.

"Oh, as if, my friend. As if." The lab laughed. He left the room, and shut the door behind him. Jim turned away, and processed the info that was given to him.

At that moment: Krystal was in her arwing the second she received the telepathic signal from Jim. Faye and Miyu were in theirs as well. When Krystal was in the air, a part of the earth opened up near the pad where she lifted off of, and two Interceptor class arwings were floating next to her as well. Then, following the signal given off by the tracking device, proceeded to fly as fast and as hard as they could to the source.

'Jim, please, hold on for me. Hold on until I get there,' she mentally pleaded, not knowing whether or not he got thought.

'I'll always be here for you, love.' Krystal gasped at the reply, and a tear went down her furry face as she tried to suppress the emotional outburst welling up inside her.

Unknown Area: As Jim was sending the telepathic reply to Krystal, he felt a smile play across his face. Then, another scientist came in. This time, he had another hypo, filled with a type of clear fluid. Jim guessed what was inside it, and was proven correct when the injection was making him feel numb all over, and he blacked out once more.

At that moment: Three arwings, one standard the others Interceptor class, landed in a wooded area not far from Corneria City. When the three of them disembarked from the craft, they pulled out thier sidearm's, and followed Miyu, who was tracking Jim's signal. She stopped in front of a large boulder, where her wrist-communicator was going wild. She signaled for Faye to get beside her, and both placed a small explosive on the rock. They set the timer, and the three of them got as far back away as possible. After thirty seconds, the boulder's front side was blown clean off, and revealed a stairway leading down. The trio made thier way down a dimly lit stairwell, to the bottom of it nearly several meters down. At the end, was a large door, which Miyu knocked on twice. A gaurd opened it, And Miyu slammed the door in his face, hard. The gaurd fell back in a heap, and unconscious.

"Don't you know it's rude to not hold a door open for a lady?" she asked, smirking. The three of them entered the doorway, and into an open room. Krystal reached out, hoping to feel for Jim. No such luck. Wherever they have him now, must have him shielded from her telepathic abilities. They would have to find him the old-fashioned way. After making thier way out of the room, they entered a narrow hallway. For some reason, there was hardly any security, as the trio had noticed. 'Perhaps they feel that thier camouflage is perfect enough.' Krystal thought, disdainly. They had two choices, left or right. Miyu held out her wrist-communicator, and followed the signal left, with the others following her.

Jim opened his eyes once more to a bright glare, and squinted. After his eyes had gotten used to the glare, He looked around, and saw that he was in a totally different room, this one complete with surgical tools and various equipment. He looked down himself, and saw that he was stripped of his clothing, save for his boxers. His hands were bound with straps, as were his feet. Then, he saw an overhanging view, with the same Labrador who had spoken with him before inside, smiling openly. He nodded at one of the scientists sitting at a console, and a device lowered from overhead, just above Jim's skull.

"What we are going to do, is just a cerebral scan. It won't hurt, at first. But, as we probe deeper to see what makes you tick, you may find the sensation to be rather...interesting." As soon as he said this, a red, thin laser beam was being pointed in the center of his forehead. It felt weird, like a warm sensation in his skull as they scanned his brain. But only the surface of it. The Labrador was about to say turn the beam up higher, when an alarm went off. He made his way to an intercom, and said "What happened?"

"Sir, we have an intruder alert in sector J-6."

"Oh, company. I knew it was only a matter of time. Send Babalu to dispatch them."

"Yessir!" After he signed off, Labrador shifted his attention back to the Ultra/human hybrid.

"We must be getting close. The signal is getting stronger down this way." Miyu said, as she ran down the hallway, followed by Faye and Krystal. Just then, a small explosion erupted before them, making them freeze in thier tracks. Then, when the smoke cleared, the figure standing before them made Krystal snarl. Babalu was standing, arms folded across his chest, and tilting his golden-haired head to the side.

"And who might you be?" Faye asked. Krystal stepped forward, her blaster replaced by her staff, a furious look in her eye. Babalu recognized her at once, and got into his combat stance.

"Babalu, get out of my way..." the blue vixen growled.

"Hmph. So, the pet is once more trying to protect the master. However, you don't have Zenith here to save you this time, cur." Babalu charged, brandishing his forearm blade in a deadly manner. Krystal was barely able to block the blow, but the force of it brought her to her knees. In this confined space, moving around and using her own prowess will be difficult at best. Then, several emerald shots came from behind her, and lanced themselves across Babalu's chest, making him stumble back. Krystal looked back, and smiled at the pair, who returned the gesture. Krystal got back up, and pounced on the recovering invader. Showing no mercy, Krystal assaulted Babalu with unmatched fury, striking him in the face and midsection with her staff. Babalu tried to block the blows, but proved to be futile. He tried to slash with his forearm blade once more, but Krystal back flipped away, which is what Babalu wanted. Then, Babalu's mouth opened, and enveloped the blue vixen in a freezing mist. When he stopped, he chuckled evilly. However, he issued a loud "NANI?" when he saw Krystal enshrouded by her forcefield, which was covered with ice.

"You really should work on that." she said, grinning. Krystal dropped her forcefield, and swung her staff around, shattering the ice. She got back into her combat stance, and waited for the invader to make his next move. Babalu growled in rage, and fired his forearm blaster at the vixen, who deflected the blasts with her staff. Then, she lunged at the golden invader, and planted the pointed end of her staff into his chest. Babalu gave a pained yell, as the staff bit deep into his armor, drawing blood. Krystal pulled her staff out, which was dripping with red at one end. Babalu stumbled back, clutching his chest.

"How...dare you!" he shouted. Krystal merely waited for the invader to make his next move. Then, he slumped to the floor. Krystal twirled the staff, and returned it to its place. Faye and Miyu could only stare at the blue vixen in amazement. After snapping out of her trance, Miyu took the lead again, and stepped over the bleeding form of Babalu, leading the others down the hallway.

"Turn it up to full." Labrador said, grinning. Then, Jim felt a searing pain in his skull that made him yell in pain, as his brain felt like it was on fire. The sensation seemed to last for an eternity, while the lab looked at the suffering young man with evil amusement. Jim felt on the brink of losing consciousness from the pain. Then, Krystal burst into the room, and one look at Jim told her all she needed to know. She took aim at the device, and fired. Sparks went everywhere, and it shut the laser off. Jim passed out from the pain. Krystal ran forward, and unstrapped the young man, holding his head in her arms. She gently shook him, hoping for him to awaken.

'Please, wake up. Please, you can't die on me, not now.' Krystal thought, tears going down her furry face. A tear landed on Jim's face, and he stirred. He slowly opened his eyes, and looked at Krystal, who was now beaming at this point. She rested her head on top of his, as she embraced the human as tightly as she could. Faye and Miyu entered, and smiled at the sight.

"Now isn't this just adorable?" Faye asked.

"Yeah. Positively cute." Miyu said, grinning broadly. Jim got up on his feet, and looked at the Labrador, who took in the scene.

'It looks like Babalu has failed. Useless prick.' He turned to a console, and pressed a switch. Suddenly, alarms were going off everywhere, and dozens of security guards came pouring in, all taking aim at the quartet. Jim inhaled, and clenched his right hand into a fist. Light began to swirl around it, and it began to glow itself. Then, he raised it into the air, and shouted "GAAAIIIIYYYOOOO!" After a bright flash, Ultraman Zenith was standing in front of them, fists on his waist, looking on at the crowd of guards.

"Oh yeah, that's right! We got a mega ranger on our side! Whadda you guys got?" Faye shouted. The lab merely smiled, and moved to one of the scientists.

"Release Kyra." The scientist seemed shocked at this, and nodded in a quick manner. After pressing a few switches, a metallic clank was heard. The quartet looked to their left, and a piece of the floor was sliding back. What came through the opening, made the girls gasp. Standing at least a good nine feet tall, was an anthro with torn shorts, and chains and manacles on his wrists and ankles. He looked to be a bear, at least in one point of its miserable life. Now, it was a hulking, mindless killing machine. Its fur was blood red, and its arms and legs were bulging abnormally, and the hands were enormous paws, with several inch claws on each digit. It looked at them with glowing, blank eyes, and issued a scream that seemed to come from the very depths of hell.

"Say hello to Kyra. He was one of the good doctors first test subjects at perfecting the ultimate life form. As you can see, Kyra has enormous strength on his side, and cannot feel any pain. Although reduced to a mindless monster, he still amuses us, to no end." the lab said, smirking.

"Bastard. He turned an innocent man into a monster." Zenith said silently. The girls looked at him, and he nodded back at them. He stepped forward, and got into his combat stance. Kyra lumbered off of the plat form that brought him. It lowered, and the floor returned to its place. Kyra shambled towards the Ultra, and Zenith regarded the horrible mutation. After a brief stand off, Zenith acted first. He came at Kyra with a blow to his head, only to have the monster swat it away. It tried to grab Zenith, who avoided the monstrosity. Zenith tried a spin-kick to its face, but Kyra caught the leg, and threw Zenith like a rag doll into a wall. After leaving a good sized imprint on the wall, he fell off of it, and onto the floor. He uneasily got up, still rocked by the incredible throw.

"What's wrong? He should be able to take on that big ugly freak." Faye said.

"It's because he's still hurting from before. He hasn't had enough time to recharge properly." Krystal explained.

"Is there anything we can do, besides watch helplessly from the sidelines?" Miyu asked, watching Kyra hoist Zenith up over him, and slam him into the floor. Then, Kyra got on top of Zenith, and threw his fists at him. Because of his large size, Zenith was able to evade the blows, for a while at least. Then, Kyra brought both fists together, and threatened to bring them down on Zenith. Just before they connected, Zenith was holding them up off of him, but his warning light was flashing now, and rapidly. Krystal looked around, but couldn't find anything useful. Just then, her staff glowed, and she felt it vibrate slightly. She took it into her paw, and gazed at it. It extended, but not at her command. She felt its intentions, and smiled. She pointed the round end at Kyra, who was bringing his fists closer to Zenith, who was groaning in effort to keep them away from him. She fired several red fire balls at him, and the shots hit home. Kyra stumbled back, the attack hitting him in the face. He grabbed his face in pain, and wailed.

"I guess he does feel pain, after all." Faye said, smirking. Then, she pointed the round end at Zenith, who was just now getting up when Kyra got up off of him. He looked dazed, and weary. He turned to Krystal, and a bright blue beam of light shot from her staff, and into his warning light. He looked down, and felt a warming sensation fill his being. Soon, he felt refreshed, and no longer in pain. His warning light stopped flashing, and was shining a brilliant blue. He looked at Krystal, who smiled at him. Jim nodded in return.

"Whooo! Now, go show that freakazoid what a mega-ranger can do!" Faye called. Zenith nodded, and turned his attention to Kyra, who seemed to have recovered from Krystal's assault. Then, Zenith brought his wrists together at his warning light, and thrust them apart, the arms bent up at waist level. He was consumed in a brilliant red flash, that everyone had to shield their eyes from. When the glare subsided, Zenith was in his new 'Powered' form, and striking his battle stance. Kyra regarded this new threat for a moment, then lumbered after him. Zenith was faster this time. He came at Kyra with a rising knee that caught him in the face, forcing him to take several steps back. Then, he started to throw punch after punch at him, each one making him take a step back. Kyra caught his hand in his large paw, but Zenith didn't struggle. Instead, he brought his foot up, into Kyra's face. The mutant bear let go of his hand, and fell back. Zenith then went over to the prone Kyra, and hoisted him clean over his head.

"Whoa, now that's cool." Faye said, in awe. Zenith saw this, and thought 'What the hell,' with a slight shrug of his shoulders. He turned his body slightly, making his arms turn to the left, with the left arm in front of the right.

"**URUTURA HURRICANE!"**

After he shouted this in his deep voice, Zenith threw Kyra threw the air, and the bear mutant was spinning threw the air. Zenith unleashed his Mega-Spacium Kousen, and the bear disappeared in a fiery inferno upon contact with the powerful beam. Just then, the guards open fired, but the crimson energy blasts were deflected off of Zenith's silver and red body. The guards stared in amazement as the onslaught proved ineffective. Zenith pounded a fist against his chest, as a sign of power. Then, he placed his left hand in front of his right hand, his arms forming a cross, and fired his Spacium Kousen at the guards. After sweeping it across, the blue/white beam left a trail of destruction in its wake, and the guards were sent flying back to the floor and into walls. When the guards were dealt with, Zenith faced Labrador, and sent two shredding halos his way. The first one destroyed the glass of the view, while the other flew in, and shredded its way through anything and everything, sending sparks everywhere. Labrador ducked, and was able to narrowly avoid the attack. When he got back up, the scientists in the room were all dead, either from lacerations from the halo, or explosions from thier consoles. He turned to face Ultraman Zenith and co. the former waiting for the next move. Then, Labrador pressed a switch, and another alarm sounded, and the room lights went from a steady white to a flashing red. The group was looking around in alarm, and Zenithfocused his attention back to Labrador, who smiled openly.

"You fools. I just activated the auto-destruct sequence. You now have less than five minutes to get out of here with your lives. I'll see you in the proverbial after life. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" After that, he disappeared out the back way.

"Damn!" Zenith cursed. He turned to Krystal, and asked "Show me where your fighters are." Krystal brought up the image of where the arwings were in her mind's eye, and Jim saw this as well. He turned to Fay and Miyu, shouting "You two! Over here!" As soon as they made it to him, Zenith brung his arms up, forming an 'X' shape, meeting at the wrists, hands clenched into fists. After concentrating, he swung his arms down, and the four of them were teleported out of the lab.

They rematerialized next to thier ships. After jumping into the cockpits, the three ships were lifted into the air, with Ultraman Zenith floating with them. In seconds, the wooded area in which they had been in, was engulfed in flames and explosions, as the lab in which Jim had been kept went up in smoke. Zenith looked at Krystal, and nodded at her. She returned the gesture, and the four of them flew back to Corinthia.

Later that night: Jim was standing out in the backyard, looking up at the sky. He was thinking about what Labrador was saying, about the cloning process having been started, and that clones of him were being made. The idea sent shivers down his spine. Krystal joined him. He looked at her, and smiled. Both went back inside. They made thier way to the top of the steps, when Jim decided to ask "You feeling alright?"

"Yes, just, that's the second time I was afraid of losing you."

"The first being Titania, right?"

"Mm-hm. When I saw you on the table, the laser drilling its way into your skull, I just..."

"Feared the worst, right?" Krystal looked up, and the human could see the tears in her eyes. He smiled, and embraced her. Krystal returned it, trying to hold onto Jim as tightly as possible. Not wanting to spend the night alone, Krystal climbed into bed with the human, once more. She held him close, as before, for fear that he might not be there in the morning, while Jim felt the rhythmic breathing on his skin, as he drifted to sleep.

Unknown area: Amid the rubble and debris, something stirs. Then, a fist shoots out, followed by a body rising out of the ruins of the lab. Standing fully erect, holding his wounded chest, Babalu issued a cry of anger to the heavens, swearing vengeance not just against the Ultra, but also a personal vendetta against a certain blue-furred vixen.


	19. the Beginning of the End

Things take a turn for the worst for Jim. Expect heavy action after this chapter! Please, Read and Review!

Chapter 19.

Beginning of the End

He doesn't know where he is, but he knows how he got there. As Aaron slowly stirs, he looks into the eyes of his friend Dia, whose emeralds wore that of a worried look. They changed, when she saw him sit up, to that of relief.

"What...just happened?" Aaron asked out loud.

"I don't know. What did you see?" Dia asked.

"I don't know. It was like a...weird dream." Aaron looked around, and saw that he was still in the hollow, with the pond beside him crystal clear, and the crystals around him pulsating steadily. He looked at them all, wondering if it was a hallucination, or a premonition of what will happen.

'What is going on?' he thinks. Just then, Dia's head perks up, as if hearing something. Then, her head turns to the entrance of the hollow, and smiles slightly. Aaron also turns his head, and looks on. Coming out of the shadow, was Dia's mother. She wore a smile on her vulpine features that made the young human feel at ease.

"So. I see that you have decided to indulge your new friend in our secret, Dia." she said, amused.

"Yes, mother. I felt that he needed to know."

"And you felt right, my loved one." She turned from Dia, and knelt down to face Aaron.

"This place was made by my ancestors several hundred years ago. It was created for tuning the mind and soul. I have felt what it was that you experienced, and I have no doubt, that it means danger for us all." Her face went serious when she said this, and Aaron could feel it.

"Do you know who that person is? The one with the hood over his face?" Aaron asked. Dia's mother turned away, as if unsure, then answered

"I'm afraid that the only one who can answer that, is you." Aaron's face became blank when she said this, and wondered what it was that she meant. Her face went back to its smiling self, and patted the boy on the shoulder.

"Let's not worry about that for now. Now, I suggest that we leave for now, before you two miss out on breakfast." Dia's face almost went to shock when she said this.

"Mother, you wouldn't! You know how Rena takes all my food when I'm not looking!"

"Then I suggest that you hurry, then." Dia grabbed Aaron by the arm, and dragged the human boy out of the hollow, and both were running through the cavern. Dia's mother remained behind. She turned to face the crystal's, thinking.

'Is this what you foretold, Xetulu? Is this how our world ends?' Her question went unanswered, as she turned and left the hollow as well.

Dia and Aaron were practically sprinting all the way back to the house. Well, Dia was, while Aaron struggled to keep up with the blue kit. When reached the house, Aaron was panting loudly, while Dia ran into the dining room

'What have they been feeding her?' he asks, mentally. Aaron also made his way into the dining room, and saw a rather dismayed Dia watching Rena eating some kind of fruit from a large bowl. She looked like she was near tears, as the table was bare, except for Rena's bowl. Then her father appeared, holding another bowl, probably for himself. He saw the two, and smiled openly. After setting down his own bowl, Randorn went back into the kitchen, and brought out two smaller bowls. Dia's eyes lit up, and went to her respective place at the table, and Aaron sat next to her. He looked into the bowl in front of him, and saw that it was filled with various berries and pieces of fruit. He saw Dia attack her bowl relentlessly, and smiled in amusement, as did Randorn. Aaron tried a piece of fruit, and it reminded him of a mixed hybrid of pear and apple. He was going through the bowl at a steady pace, when Randorn spoke up;

"Aaron, do you know what your sensei meant by 'special training'?" he asked, smiling.

"No. Actually, I have no idea what's going on here. I just saw my teacher transform for the first time, and found out that I am an Ultra myself. Do you know what he meant, sir?" Randorn smiled broadly, and answered.

"You are here, to begin your training in becoming an Ultra warrior. He had contacted me awhile ago, and arranged everything for you here."

"Then, where did he go?" Aaron asked. Randorn continued to smile, and said "All in due time, Aaron." The young human could not help but wonder if the vision he had, and his sensei's sudden leave were somehow connected.

Later that day, Dia was asked to show Aaron around the village. After being informed by Randorn that Aaron was a newcomer, the inhabitants gave the young human a more approachable attitude, even if they did give him funny expressions. Dia was an excellent tour guide, showing him everything, and practically running from place to place.

"Dia, what is it that your father does here?" Aaron asked.

"He is the leader of the tribe. he makes sure that everything is working, and sees that everyone is doing what they need to do."

"I get it. So, he runs everything here, then."

"Yep. My father is very well known here, and they know me too." she stated, as she came up to a stand and the owner tussled her hair, making her giggle. The owner saw Aaron, and was wearing a broad grin on his wizened features. Like everyone else here, he was a blue fox, except he was wearing a tunic, covering a large stomach, and had large arms with the muscles showing, and a white mustache coming out of the sides of his muzzle. To the human, he looked like someone's grandfather.

"Dia. I see that you have a new friend here." the elder fox stated.

"My name's Aaron."

"And I am called Cistern. Please, feel free to browse my wares." he said, gesturing to behind him. Aaron saw that it was filled with various types of items and trinkets, ranging from dolls, to wooden carvings and jewelry. The young human looked through them, and was captivated by one in particular; a brace, studded with several sapphires and diamonds. Cistern saw what the human was looking at, took it down, and handed it to the human boy.

"Do you like it? It is the brace of a warrior, worn only by those who have done great deeds." Aaron was inspecting it in his hands, and Dia's face was that of wonder, as she stared at it. The human boy handed it back to Cistern, and Dia dragged him through out the village.

After guiding him through the place, Dia stopped at the edge of the village, almost rooted. Aaron looked at the blue vixen, confused.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"We're not supposed to go out there."

"Huh?"

"The forest. There's something bad there. My father and mother told me, never to go out into the forest, for any reason." Aaron looked into the tree line. It was gloomy, to be sure, but hardly the lace to be harboring a nightmarish aberration. Aaron shrugged, and moved towards the tree line, determined to prove to his friend that there is nothing to fear.

"Wait, no. Aaron, don't go near!" Dia reached out for the human, but wouldn't go after him. She was glued to the spot by fear. Aaron was now almost inches from the tree line, and peered into it. He saw movement here and there, but deduced it to be the breeze wafting through. Then, he saw them; two glowing yellow eyes, looking right back at him. Suddenly, they narrowed, and a growling sound came from them. Aaron took an involuntary step back, and Dia placed her hands near her mouth in fear. Then, two large hands and arms shot out, and latched onto his face, blocking his vision. The last thing he remembers before he loses consciousness, was the smell of something burning.

Jim awoke to the scent of smoke wafting to his nostrils, and shot up in bed. Krystal hardly stirred next to him, but then he saw her own nostrils twitch, and her eyes shot open. She sat up, and looked at Jim, then to the door. Both human and vixen got out of bed, and made thier way out of the door, and down the stairs. What they saw, made them smile in amusement; Faye was in the kitchen attempting to make breakfast. Trying, and obviously failing, due to the amount of smoke rising from the skillets. Jim covered his mouth with his hand, to hide his laughter, while Krystal did likewise, as the snow-white Collie went back and forth, trying to correct the mistakes that she had made. Then, Miyu in a bright red bathrobe made her way downstairs, obviously awakened by the scent of burning food. She stormed to where the Collie was moving to and fro, and shoved her out of the way and turned the stove off, opening a window and the sliding glass door.

"What have I told you about cooking unsupervised?" Miyu asked, none too pleased.

"To not to." Faye replied, sullenly. Both human and vixen were trying desperately to control thier laughter. Faye got out of Miyu's way, as the lynx tried to amend what the collie had done.

"Sorry. I just wanted to surprise you..."

"It's fine, Faye. We appreciate the thought." Krystal said, comforting the Collie.

"Just, don't burn the house down in the process. I knew a soldier I went to basic training with who did that to his home four times."

"Really?" Faye asked.

"You never mentioned anything about that. In fact, you hardly ever talked about your life in the military." Krystal replied.

"Well, considering what had happened, it's not an easy subject for me to express openly. But seriously, I could tell you horror stories all day about some of the soldiers I went to basic with."

"Well, we got the time." Faye said. Jim looked from Faye, to Krystal. Both of them had slightly grinning looks on thier canine and vulpine faces.

"Seriously, you two wanna hear about it?"

"Of course we do." Krystal said. Jim sighed, and sat down, as did Faye and Krystal. The human started to recount about his time in the military, starting with basic training; he was trained at Ft. Knox. The soldiers he was in basic with, had mostly faded to memory, but was starting to recount them. He remembered Private Larson, the guy who burned his home down four times. Most of the others thought he was born with more chromosomes than brain cells, and they had proof to back it up. Even the drill instructors thought he was retarded. Jim remembers how he had got his hand caught in the sliding ammo storage door of an M1-A1 tank. The soldiers were being taught how the tank worked, how it fired, how to load it, and, Jim's personal favorite, how to drive it. During the course of where the ammo was being stowed, the drill instructor showed them one of the main storage compartments, located just behind the T.C. and loader's seat. The door was pressure activated, and one little push, was all it needed to send almost a half a ton (exaggerated, but I seriously doubt you want to find out ;) of metal slamming shut. And Larson had to learn that the hard way, after he 'lightly' tapped the switch, it sent the door hell-bent for its destination, pinning his hand in between the door and slactch, barely. Krystal winced, for she saw the memory through the rapport she shared with the human. When Jim saw this, he almost laughed out loud.

"And he did it deliberately too. He wanted to see if it the emergency-stop feature was operating, and lost that gamble. A few hours later, he came back to the barracks from sick call, his hand completely bandaged."

"Sounds painful." Faye said

"Excruciating..." commented Krystal. Jim laughed at this.

"That's nothing. Tell them about the time you accidentally almost fried the flight instructor with your fighter's thrusters, _while_ still docked and being inspected, Faye." Miyu said, smiling over the skillets. Faye winced herself at this, as did Krystal, who saw the memory for herself. During her time at the academy, Faye was one of the instructor's major headaches. One classic example, was when she was preparing for a test run in a cornerian fighter, and was being inspected by the drill instructor, when she accidentally turned the ignition on. The searing heat would've melted his face clean off, if not for the protective covering over the face and head that's standard issue when on the docks. However, it couldn't shield him totally, as he was inspecting the thrusters up close, and got a face full of burning plasma. Faye was suspended for a month, almost setting her back. Fortunately, Her impressive flying skills were enough to impress said instructor, who got out of the ordeal with third degree burns, and some proxy.

"Sounds like another soldier I knew. A stupidly arrogant kid named Peterson." Jim remembered how Peterson was pretty much one of the lowest regarded soldier in the platoon he was in. He was always talking about how his father was a war hero, and how his mother was a hot-shot lawyer. One of the privates countered that, saying that his own father retired from the air force as a Master Sergeant, which was the equivalence of a Sergeant First Class. Peterson's ego was dealt a blow, and the two became enemies right from the get-go. But the main reason why he remembered him, was because of the test-drive; Jim had passed the course with flying colors, and was with the drill instructor while another soldier drove the vehicle. That's when Peterson's tank rolled by.

"And by rolled by, I mean lurched forward every few feet. Every time he got the tank rolling for a second, he immediately stopped, and started, stopped, and started. The T.C. was getting knocked around in the hatch, having his ribs and back being slammed into the edge of the hatch, every time the tank moved. The drill instructor and myself could hear the cursing and shouting over our headsets, and how he wanted nothing more than to throttle the a-hole. It was freakin' hilarious!" Jim said with a laugh. Krystal saw the memory, but hardly found it funny, as she watched the drill instructor waving around in a lurching tank, his body half way out of the hatch, slamming around the edges.

"Not only that, but he can't shoot for crap. At the firing range, we were qualifying with the nine-millimeter glock. That's the side-arm that we are issued. This kid, could not hit a single target. He failed miserably, to the point that the drill instructor _actually_ had to shoot for him."

"Isn't that illegal, though?" Krystal asked.

"Normally, yes. But, it was near the end of our training, and we all wanted to just get the hell out of there." Jim said, smiling slightly.

"What about his 'mortal enemy'? The one with the retired Air Force father?" Miyu asked.

" Oh yeah. Private Hoffman. He was something else. Not really high on the expectations list, but he got by. He was really not that bad of a person, he was just really...short-tempered. Especially about his speech-impediment."

"Really?" Krystal asked, and saw the image of the young man. He was around Jim's age, with a slight gut, glasses, blonde hair, and green eyes.

"Yeah. Although he didn't really score that well in basic, just getting by with the minimal requirement, he did make an impression. He was mostly the comedian of the group, or tried to be. He was also a writer in the side. I read some of his stuff, and he was pretty good. For an amateur, of course, but still pretty good. Eventually, He and Peterson got into a fight. It was during a vehicle-roll over class, and some of the foam rubber stuff got thrown out of the vehicle model. Some of the soldiers were tossing it back and forth, and Peterson was on the receiving end of some of it. It was really starting to get him mad, so Hoffman told him to cool down. That was when Peterson told him to go hang himself for being a retard, and to mind his own business." Krystal was watching the memory unfold in Jim's mind, and saw a dark-skinned, scrawny human, shouting at the one called Hoffman, in a crowd of other soldiers in a garage.

"Later, Hoffman came by my barracks room. I was sharing the same room with Peterson, and four other guys. When we saw him walk in, we knew what it was that he was here for. He calmly walked towards Peterson, and told him that what it was that he said wasn't cool, and that if he apologized, he'd forget the whole thing. Peterson, being the stubborn moron that he was, called Jim on his bluff, saying that he wouldn't do crap to him. Only, that bluff, wasn't a bluff. He tackled Peterson into a locker, and the two had a slugging match, knocking eachother into lockers and what-not. Then, another soldier came up from behind Peterson, and grabbed him in a full nelson, and threw him onto the bed. Jim whacked him on the head for good measure, and walked out of the room. After that, no one really got on his case anymore. If anything, that fight was what raised his popularity a bit, since no one really liked him in the first place."

"Did you continue to know him, outside of training." Faye asked.

"Oh, yeah. He and I got stationed at the same army base, as did some of the other privates we went to basic with. Like I said, he's not really a bad guy. He's just quick to anger sometimes."

"What did your brother think of him?" Krystal asked.

"About the same as me. He worked with him on physical training, and found out that he hates running with a passion, but then again, most of the others were like that."

Jim continued to recount about the memories he has of his fellow soldiers, right up until his second deployment, and the eventual end of Earth. The last one brought a tear to his eye, and was asked to be excused. He made his way upstairs, and went into his room, staring out of he window, and into space. Krystal came into the room, and embraced Jim from behind. She felt the pain he was feeling, and sympathized completely.

"I can feel what is that's bothering you. Remembering your comrades was painful, wasn't it?"

"A little. But then again, I'm used to pain by now." Jim answered, not taking his gaze off of the landscape. Krystal held him a bit more tightly, and rested her head on his shoulder, nuzzling her face against Jim's. The human turned to face the vixen, a tear coming down his cheek. Krystal wiped it away, and placed it on the hand on the side of his face. Jim took it into his own hand, and gently caressed it.

"Hey you two! The food's ready, so get your butts down here before Faye eats it all!" Miyu shouted. Both Jim and Krystal turned away from eachother, blushing slightly. And both of them made thier way downstairs.

Great Fox, in orbit around Corneria: In his quarters, Fox was sitting at his desk, wondering how things got so bad, so quickly. First, he distrusted the human, then he confiscated his Spacium Brace, then said human went postal on the ship, and then threatened the team if they were to follow him.

'And it's all because of how I feel. I don't want to admit it, but I'm jealous of him.' Fox thinks, sullenly. 'He has all of that power, all of those abilities, and what do I got against that? He's practically a god compared to us. He has saved lives continuously, and whether or not he knows it, his popularity is starting to grow. Even Fara and the family are starting to embrace him. If they found out who he really was...'

Fox let the thought hang for a moment more, before being interrupted by a chime coming from his personal receiver. He turned the monitor his way, and switched it on. To his surprise, Fara's face filled the screen, wearing a concerned look.

"Fox, I just heard what happened! Is it true that the Ultra attacked you guys?" she asked, worriedly.

"I'm afraid so, Fara. Even though it was kinda our fault, he really did a number on Great Fox," Fox was brought out of his thought by a sudden realization;

"How'd you guys know about that?" he asked, surprised.

"It was on the news. Here, I'll forward it to you." After pressing a switch off-screen, the picture went from Fara, to a scene in space, where Jim in his 'Powered' form, dodging and juking while Great fox fires its cannons at him. then, Jim fires his Giga-Spacium Kousen, taking out the port wings. The scene paused, and was shrunken to about 1/6, and was moved to the top left-hand corner, and a female wolf in a business-woman's outfit sat at a desk, with the Cornerian News Network logo behind her.

"That is the latest we have on the red and silver being, called an Ultra by various sources, and seems to have had a falling out with everyone's favorite mercenary team. Why would Star Fox attack an otherwise benevolent entity? Who or what is this entity? And more importantly, where is this entity now? These questions remain unanswered."

The scene shifted back to Fara, who still kept her concerned face.

"Does Cody know?" Fox asked.

"Yes, and he's quite upset that you attacked him. Fox, what is going on here? Is he really turning to evil, like you feared?"

"I don't know, Fara. I just don't know anymore." When Fox signed off, he leaned back in his chair, and gazed up at the ceiling.

'I just don't know anymore...' he thinks.

Corneria, unknown area: Babalu was making his way down the hallway, in his natural gold/black form. He had a bandage on his chest, a humiliating reminder of what the 'blue-furred bitch' did to him. 'Ohhhh, I'm going to enjoy peeling the flesh from her bones, and listening to her melodious screams of agony, begging for me to end it all. And, I'll make Zenith watch as well. Two birds with one stone! Oh, the things I'll do to them...' Babalu was interrupted from his thought when he was seen by the very two people that he wanted to avoid at all cost; Faust and Clara were walking down the hallway, coming towards him. Faust was in his human form, and when he saw Babalu, he nudged Clara, and pointed to Babalu.

"Well well. If it isn't the 'golden child'." Clara said, laughing slightly.

"Too bad that all it took to bring him down was a cute, adorable little fuzzy-wuzzy." Faust jibed. Babalu could feel his anger mounting.

"Who would've thought that the inhabitants could be so formidable, eh Clara?"

"Oh yes, Faust. Truly, these adorable animals are the fiercest race in this reality. Why, I'd much rather face an armada of Zettonnian ships, than go toe-to-toe with one of the cuddly inhabitants of this system." Clara said, sarcasm in her voice. Babalu growled, but said nothing. He just walked past them, while the two continued to laugh at him. He knew, long ago, that nothing motivates like vengeance. And Babalu was determined to get an ample supply of it, one way or another.

Corinthia, around that time: Faye and Miyu were out, more than likely at the shopping center. Krystal was in her room, meditating, when she felt a disturbance. She got up fom her cross-legged position on the floor, and went out of her room. After making her way downstairs, she saw Jim in a similiar position, in front of the blank wall-mounted view screen. He didn't stir, nor acknowledge to her presence. However, when Krystal was at the foot of the steps, he stood up, looking rather haggard. Krystal moved over to him, worried. The human saw her, and smiled openly.

"I've finally got it figured out, now."

"What?" she asked, tilting her head to one side.

"Almost everything." Jim made his way to the dining table, and sat down. Krystal joined him, sitting on the opposite end from him. The human tapped his fingers against the table, and looked deep in thought. Finally, he spoke up.

"Do you remember my telling you that, my race comes from another reality from yours?" Krystal nodded her head. "Well, that wasn't all."

"What do you mean?" Jim told her everything he knew up to this point.

When the Ultra race discovered the existence of the 'Gateway' to other realities, they feared an assault from a hostile force from said realities. So, they sent Ultras to as many of the realities as they could, to stand guard over them, in case an aggressive force should make itself known. Some of the famous ones, such as Tiga, Dyna, Gaia and Agul, Cosmos, and others were picked for this mission. Another one chosen, was Jim/Zenith's old friend, Sheja. He was sent to the Star Fox reality to act as the guardian there. The reports he sent back, were astounding at first, as were the other reports; races resembling humans living on Earths as identical as thier own. Naturally, the Ultras in the different realities were given orders to protect these other-humans, as well as any other sentient race. However, Sheja discovered the humans living not on Earth, but on

"Fortuna?" Krystal asked. Jim nodded his head solemnly.

"The human race on Fortuna was an advanced civilization, rivaling your own in several places. They had already discovered space flight, warp-speed, even colonizing other planets. Earth was one of these planets that were colonized, as well as several others. When Sheja sent word back to M78, Zoffy and the others were intrigued by this, and stated that Sheja protect the human race, with utmost priority."

"Why? What made these humans so special from the others?" Krystal asked.

"Because, of how close they were to evolving."

"Evolving into what? Ultras?"

"Exactly. My race was a little more advanced than these humans, but in a couple hundred years or so, they would be at the peak, to where they themselves would probably evolve into Ultra-beings. Because of this, protection of these humans was his first goal. He took the form of a human, based off of a recently deceased one, and blended into thier society. Occasionally, he would leave Fortuna and head for M78, or rather, the outpost that was there, to give his superiors his report."

"What do you mean by 'outpost'?" Krystal asked.

Since going to and fro in-between M78 and realities was slow and inefficient, the Ultras constructed 'outposts of light ' in each reality, where the Ultra can recover from battle, and send his regular report to his superiors.

"That's where I went, when I was scheduled to leave for M78. I couldn't leave this universe, so Mebius brought me to the outpost instead."

"So, you were here, this whole time." Krystal said. Jim nodded slowly.

"Then why, didn't you say anything before? We all thought that you had left us for good, but you were here with us, all along. Why didn't you send us a message, or me a message?"

"Because there was no way. During my time at the outpost, I was cut off from the rest of the universe, so my initiation into the Space Garrison could be conducted, without any distractions. I would have sent you a message, if I could have. But it was impossible for me to. Basically, all they said, was for me to pick up where Sheja left off, before he was...killed."

"By Gorzul?" she asked. Again, Jim nodded, not looking at her. Sheja was visiting friends and family on M78, when Zenith accidentally unleashed Gorzul from his prison. Gorzul was headed for one place only; Lylat system. However, he did not get to _when_ he wanted to go.

"How do you mean?"

"The gateways themselves are unpredictable. They link not only space, but somehow time as well. This was thought to be impossible, even for my race. But through trial and error, we had learned that you could not only be sent to a different place in the reality, but also a different time. Over time, the Ultras had learned to 'read' the currents of space and time in between the gateways, to make sure that they got to where and when they needed to be. Gorzul obviously did not know this, for he got transported to thousands of years before your time. Sheja and I came to where he left off, which was several hours after Sheja had left Lylat for M78. However, Gorzul must have changed the time-stream somehow, for when we came back, the human race was gone, and replaced by you. Sheja sent me away to Earth, which had the last remaining humans on it."

"So, Gorzul changed something in the past, leaving behind the Earth as the only place left for humans. Then, what the Saurians had said was true then. Gorzul must have destroyed the first civilization thousands of years ago, leaving only us to pick up where they left off." Krystal said, in thought.

"Anyway, Sheja took on Gorzul for the second time, and he died defending the Lylat system. However, humans soon forgot about thier heritage, and became what they were before Gorzul destroyed them, leaving only me." Jim trembled slightly, and tears were forming in his eyes, as the overwhelming guilt came back in force. He still blamed himself for Gorzul's release, and the death of a civilization only strengthened his resolve on that fact. Krystal put a comforting hand on top of Jim's. The human looked up, and saw Krystal smiling at him. He couldn't look at her, not now, not like this. He looked away, embarrassed and ashamed. The blue vixen put a hand to the side of his face, and motioned for the human to look at her.

"I meant to ask you; were you chosen by the Ultras to supplant the old race, or was that just a story to pick you up?" Krystal asked. Jim sighed heavily, and looked at Krystal.

"I'm afraid that it's just that, a story. Zoffy told General Pepper that, who in turn told Peppy, that I was chosen to supplant the old Ultra race with a new one."

"But, why? Why the deception?"

"Probably because, he thought that you really wouldn't understand the situation that I was in, and decided to tell you something a bit more…plausible, I guess." He smiled sheepishly at Krystal, who grinned at him, and held onto his hand.

Unknown area: Addleson was sitting in his recliner, over looking Corneria City. A chime went off on his desk, and he turned around and pressed a switch.

"Addleson."

"Sir, unit Alpha-twelve is headed up."

"Excellent. I eagerly await him." A few minutes later, Jim walked into the room. Addleson jumped up with apparent glee, and walked over to the Ultra/human hybrid.

'I've done it! I've created the first Ultra clone!' he thinks gleefully. Indeed, the clone looked almost exactly like Jim, save for the white uniform and boots he was wearing. The clone kept its eyes staring blankly ahead, while Addleson looked him up and down, sizing him up. He stopped in front of it, his hands clasped together in excitement.

"Can you hear me?" The clone nodded once.

"Can you understand me?" The clone nodded again.

"Whom do you serve?" The clone did nothing this time, as if not hearing, or not caring, what was asked it.

"Well, can you speak, or can't you?" Addleson asked, getting annoyed. The clone gave him a look, as if to say that it can't.

"No speech center, eh? We'll have to work on that, won't we." Addleson said, rubbing his chin thoughtfully. He turned his attention back to the clone.

"Do you remember your orders? What it is that you are meant to do?" The clone nodded.

"Then, go carry them out, my son. And remember what to do, should _he_ appear." The clone nodded, ad left the room. Addleson went back to his desk, and sat down. 'Soon, Jim. Soon, even the girl will shun you, and you will have no choice but to come to me, willingly.' Addleson laughed heartedly at the thought.

Corinthia City: Jim and Krystal were sitting in the living room, cross-legged, eyes shut in concentration, as they tried to contact someone. During her time on Sauria, Krystal had learned how to communicate with the Krazoa Spirits. She could even talk to them light-years away. What they had hoped to do, was find the whereabouts of Gorzul. If anyone in this universe had any idea where it could be, it was the Spirits. After a couple of hours of concentrating, their efforts were beginning to pay off; Jim thought he heard a chittering sound, and when he opened his eyes, he was startled to see a Krazoa Spirit floating listlessly in front of him, followed by two others. Krystal opened her eyes as well, and smiled when she saw them. Soon, all six of the spirits were floating all around them in the living room. Jim stood up, and four of the spirits were floating around him. The Ultra/human hybrid looked at himself, startled, while the blue vixen smiled openly. When she stood up, the Krazoa moved away from Jim, and started to swirl in between them. Soon, all six had converged on eachother, combining themselves into a single mass. Then, when the mass had taken form, what stood before them gave off a brilliant radiance; standing at least equal to Jim's six foot height, was a robed figure, with a Krazoa's head. It was standing in front of them, and turned its head slowly to each of them.

"Krystal. So good to see you again, child."

"It is good to see you as well, old friend." Krystal replied, smiling. The Krazoa nodded in acknowledgement. Then, it turned its gaze to a rather surprised Jim.

"Warrior of Light, we know what it is that you seek. However, we are unable to give you such information at this time."

"And why is that?" Jim asked, turning his head towards the Krazoa.

"Even we cannot pinpoint Gorzul's exact location. He is shrouded in darkness, concealed in shadow. Our insight cannot breach his barriers enough to tell you of much import, save for the fact that he is coming, for you."

"For me? Why me?"

"Only one with the power of light by his side will triumph over this evil. Gorzul sensed this, and tried to remove you. He failed at Earth, but is now trying to do so here, by manipulating others to do his bidding."

'So that's how he's doing it. Dr. Addleson, Babalu, and the others are no more than puppets for him. Well, Addleson is one, for sure. I highly doubt that he knows that he is being used.' Jim thought.

"But, even if we were to tell you here he is, you are not ready."

"What?" Jim asked, unbelievingly.

"Your true potential has yet to fully awaken. Only when you summon your true strength from within, will you have the means of defeating Gorzul."

"What do you know? My true form has been awakened. I've defeated Faust, Babalu and Galdon with it, as I am sure you already know." Jim replied, rather defensively. How did it know, whether or not he was good enough? He didn't have time to train, to be more powerful, not when an evil that could wipe out whole systems was on the warpath to Lylat.

"Yes, your fighting form has made itself known. But, that is not enough, we are afraid. You still have to obtain your ultimate form, the phase when all the power of your race has become yours to command. With that power, you will have god-like divinity that all evil in the universe will know to fear. However, that is a ways off, yet. You must learn how to control your power, before achieving such a state." The Krazoa stated plainly. Jim looked away, discouraged.

"How long? How long until I obtain this power? How long until I defeat Gorzul, how long must people suffer around me, before I take him down, exactly how long?" Jim shouted at the Krazoa. The entity never changed its blank-like expression.

"We do not know." Jim was hardly surprised by that answer, and slumped down on the couch in defeat. Krystal went over to comfort the young man, but he ignored her, focusing on the information that was given to him.

'So, I'm not ready to take Gorzul on, according to him, am I?' Jim thought bitterly. 'I'll sow him. I'll bring Gorzul down myself, and then, people will know me for who I really am.' Jim's expression became that of determination, as he looked up, and faced the Krazoa. He sprung up, and pointed at the Krazoa

"You don't know much about us Ultras. You think that you will discourage me from finding the thing that killed my family, and my friends? I'll find Gorzul myself, and then, I'll kill him with my bare hands." he snarled, clenching his hand into a fist. Krystal was taken aback from this, and took a step back, surprised at her friend's words.

"Take heed, young warrior. Such actions, will only hurt you in the long run. Should you pursue on this path, you will drive your friends away, leaving you truly alone, and unable to face the evil that is coming. Relying on yourself alone will not win this war."

"Are you saying that I am weak?" Jim asked in a cold rage, trembling from anger.

"No. We are saying, that you have yet to know what it truly means to be an Ultra."

"Why you..." Jim growled. First, it says that he is not good enough, then it insults him by saying that he is not a full Ultra.

"You're just like all the rest, aren't you? You believe that I'm just a stupid kid, who's caused nothing but trouble, and will not amount to anything, don't you?" he shouted.

"Jim, please! That's not what he's saying at all. He's just-"

"Shut up! I know what he's saying!" he snarled at Krystal. She looked hurt, and looked away. Jim saw this, and his expression softened somewhat, but returned to its original fury when the Krazoa spoke.

"See now, what your words and emotions do. Should you continue down this path, with these feelings in your heart, you'll only defeat yourself, and push those closest to you away." Then, the Krazoa turned to Krystal.

"Krystal, please help him. Help him to achieve his true potential. He cannot do this alone, no matter how hard he tries." The words stung him, like bullets ripping through his flesh, as the Krazoa converses with Krystal. Krystal felt what it was that the young man was feeling, and felt for him. After saying "Fare well.", the Krazoa vanished in a flash of light, leaving an angry Ultra/human, and a blue furred vixen. Krystal took a step to Jim, who backed away, still feeling hurt at being called weak by an entity that has no idea what an Ultra is capable of. Jim clenched his fists, and ran outside. Krystal followed, but Jim converted to his Ultra form, and flew away, leaving a teary eyed Krystal behind.

'Jim, you do not have to hurt yourself like this, not like this.' she thinks. She runs to the hidden garage, and enters her arwing, hoping to track down her distraught friend.

Corinthia City, at that time: Alpha-twelve was walking down a street, as Krystal's arwing soared overhead, the vixen oblivious to the clone's position. The clone looked up blankly, then walked down the street some more, the anthros and non-Lylats moving past him, lost in the crowd.

Unknown part of Corneria: Zenith was flying as fast and as hard he could. The words of the Krazoa still bit deeply into his heart. He was being followed by Krystal, although he didn't feel her presence. The blue furred vixen was catching up to him slowly, but surely. When Jim did feel her, he tried to speed up.

'Jim, please, don't push me away like this. Let's talk.'

'About what, pray tell? About how weak I am? About how I must rely on others to pull me out of situations? About how useless I am without a babysitter looking out for me?' Zenith mentally shouted back at Krystal. She could feel the rage and pain coming off of him in droves. He continued to speed up, and Krystal was losing him. She pushed her arwing to its limits.

'Jim, slow down!'

'Why, am I going too fast for you to help me?'

'At this rate, you'll use up all of your solar energy, and die from drainage!' she shouted back through thier rapport. She didn't want to, but she had to do something. But the Ultra did not listen. Soon, his warning light started to flash at a rapid pace, indicating he was using up too much energy for his body to compensate by recharging in the sunlight. Suddenly, he slowed down, and began to plummet from the sky like a stone.

"No, Jim!" Krystal shouted. She feared the worst. Images of Zenith's mangled, lifeless body flashed through her head. Jim crashed in a forested area, and skidded to a halt in a field. Krystal touched down near the impact-site, where Zenith's limp form was. He was still in his Ultra form, facing up. Krystal ran towards to him, and saw that his warning light was still flashing, and the chime going off, indicating that he was still alive. The chime was constant, and the flashing steady, his body starting to recharge a bit, now that he wasn't burning more than he could recharge. However, his 'eyes' were dim, more than likely an indication that he was unconscious. Krystal let out a sigh of relief, knowing that her friend was alive. Then, the Ultra stirred, and rose up slowly. Krystal gasped, and made her way to Jim. However, he started to float away, slowly, but soon crashed into the ground. He got up, and tried to fly away again, this time getting no more than a few feet off of the ground before falling face-down. Jim struggled to his feet, but fell to his knees. Krystal ran over, and tried to help him up.

"Leave me!" he shouted in his distorted voice.

"But, you're hurt.." she replied, hurt and concern in her voice.

"I have suffered worse than this. I have fought opponents that could do a lot worse than this, and came out on top."

"Stop being stubborn, and let me help you." she said, more sternly.

"So, you think me weak as well?" Jim said, growling.

"I never said that. You're hurt, and I-"

"I said, leave me alone!" he almost yelled, making her back off. Krystal backed away, as the Ultra rose, painfully, and tried to fly. However, like last time, he only got a few feet off of the ground, and fell. He reverted back to his human form, and tried to get back up. His body was sore all over, and refused to listen. He broke down, and began to sob gently.

"What's the use? I'm worthless. Look at me. I can't do a damned thing by myself, not without someone holding my hand..."

"That's not true. Stop thinking like that. You are stronger than you realize.."

"Then prove it!" he shouted, finding the strength to get up and face her.

"Prove to me, that I am not weak! Prove to me that I can do anything myself, without you having to bail me out..." he looked away, eyes shut, as tears rolled down his face. Krystal ran over, and embraced him, and both dropped to thier knees, as Jim let out his anger and pain.

"Jim, you are stronger than you know. I have felt it. From the time you first stepped into my life, and onto the Great Fox for the first time, I felt an inner power within you. It is greater than you realize, and will awaken within you soon. You have achieved your Ultra form, and your more powerful form. But first, you must learn to control yourself. As strong and powerful as you are, you are not invincible. You still have limits that you need to break down." she said gently as she held him. Jim tried to hold back the tears, but felt too weak to hold them back.

"Don't try to hold them back. If you do, all you are doing is holding in pain that will increase over time, until it will eventually become unbearable. There is no shame in it, no shame in letting all of it out, just as there is no shame in admitting one's own limits."

"I need to get stronger. I need to become strong enough, to protect everyone, and to defeat Gorzul."

"And you will. I promise."

"No. Not before more people die. If I don't get stronger soon, then more innocent people will die, and everyone will blame me for it, for I was not strong enough to protect them. I can't lose anyone else, not like Earth, or Sheja. Not like my friends and family."

"No one will blame you. They won't blame you, not if you try your hardest to protect them."

"I wish that I could believe that." Krystal felt the pain in his words, and tried her best to console the young Ultra/human.

Corinthia City: Alpha-twelve ducked into a nearby alleyway, and looked left and right, making sure that he was not followed. Satisfied, he placed his right arm over his heart, and placed his left hand over it, and swung both of them out, crucifix style. His body was enveloped in a flash of light, right then and there.

Faye and Miyu were leaving the shopping center, with the collie having several bags in her hands. Then, they felt a slight shockwave, then another, and another. To them, it was as if they were the footsteps of a giant. Then, they looked up, and saw what it was that was causing them; An Ultra, standing fourty meters, was waling down a street, in thier direction. It trampled on cars and people alike, not caring who or what got in its way. However, what got both of thier attention, was the fact that it looked like

"Is that Jim?" Faye asked, unbelievingly. Miyu could not answer. Indeed, it looked exactly like Jim when he transformed into his Ultra form, with the only exception that his eyes were shining a slightly different color. The Ultra looked around, as people looked up in awe. Then, Jim raised a hand to his chest, then flung it out towards the crowd, sending a blue/white energy blast at the crowd. The explosion incinerated people, and sent hundreds flying in different directions. The two anthros looked on in horror, as the scene unfolded before them, as the Ultra blasted at anything and everything, regardless if it was moving or not.

In orbit around Corneria: Fox was sitting in the command chair, going over the logs and damage reports that they had sustained from thier last encounter with Jim. The others were busy at thier respective consoles, doing maintenance and upgrading systems. Fox was going over the supplies, when he got a transmission from the planet. He patched it through, and sure enough, what appeared on his personal monitor greatly disturbed him.

"No. It can't be, not now..." he said quietly.

"What's wrong, Fox?" Peppy asked, looking up from his console. Fox sent the transmission to the main monitor, and then, everyone shared in his disbelief; an Ultra, looking a lot like Jim, was tearing through the Corinthia, tearing buildings apart, and wading through the CDF garrison like they were nothing.

"It's... just not possible..." Peppy said.

"Jim has... turned evil?" Slippy asked. Even Falco could not believe it. Only Fox had retained his stoic demeanor. All eyes were now on him, as the team waited for Fox's next order.

"Everyone, gear up. Were heading for Corinthia."

"But Fox, that's Jim down there." Slippy said.

"I know, Slippy, but we have no choice." Fox said, trying not to look at his closest friend in the eye. The amphibian returned his gaze back to the monitor, hoping that all of this is just a really bad nightmare.

Corinthia City: Alpha-twelve, in his Ultra form, was doing as he was instructed; massive damage and destruction in the surrounding area. He was to devastate everything around him, leaving no structure standing. And should Star Fox interfere, he has been given orders to destroy them with extreme prejudice. And as he was using his version of the Spacium Kousen, the team showed up. He turned his blank gaze at them, and seemed to regard them for a moment. Then, he sent a Spacium Kousen thier way, only for the team to dodge it easily. Then, he was sending energy blasts at them, one by one, with the nimble craft evading each shot, albeit barely. Peppy was sitting at his console on the Great Fox. His position at tactical was vital, especially now. He tried to zoom in on the Ultra, to see of there was any sign of it being an imitation. However, it was flawless, as far as he could tell.

"Guys, remember, aim for his warning light on his chest. One good shot, and he's done. Also, Slippy was able to whip up some liquid-hydrogen warheads. A few shots, and he's an ice sculpture." Peppy said from his console. He tried to hide the apprehensiveness in his voice, but the others felt it, and could not blame him. The team sent charged shots at the red and silver giant, only to have the Ultra swat them away. Then, Fox sent a liquid-hydrogen warheads his way. But, the Ultra evaded them with a cartwheel, and the warhead detonated against a building, turning it into a block of ice. Falco sent his own warheads at the Ultra, only to have the giant leap up out of the way, and the warheads froze everything within several hundred feet, albeit vehicles, or people. The team pursued him in the air, and a fierce dog-fight ensued. The Ultra sent cutting halos thier way, only to have Falco and Fox evade them. Slippy caught one in the wing, and was sent spiraling down.

"FOOOXXX!"

"Slippy!" Fox yelled. Slippy managed to eject, and land safely. Falco and Fox turned thier attention back to the Ultra, and both started to fire on him with thier lasers and nova bombs. The Ultra deflected the lasers with his arms, and blocked the bombs with his light barrier. The Ultra fired its slash-beam at the aircraft, and the arwings evaded the arrow-shaped beam, barely.

"Fox, this ain't working, man. Whatever we do, he'll just block or evade. We might as well be using slingshots!" Falco said over his headset.

"I know, Falco. But we have to outlast him, at least. Remember what Jim said? Because of Corneria's atmosphere, he can only last for a certain amount of time before having to revert back to a human. We just have to wear him down, and wait for an opening." Fox explained.

"But how long will that take?" Falco almost shouted in frustration. Fox didn't answer his friend. He couldn't. He didn't know his true potential, and could be capable of just about anything. Then, the Ultra landed on the ground, surrounded by the destruction it had caused. It looked up, its arms folded across his chest, as if challenging them. Fox and Falco saw the warning light, and it glowed a steady blue, making thier hearts sink.

Unknown area, several miles outside of Corinthia City: Krystal was flying her arwing back to Corinthia, with Jim asleep in the passenger seat behind her. Normally not made for two, the arwing was upgraded to fit two people by Slippy. As she neared the city, she could see smoke rising from the buildings. Her eyes went wide, and she sped towards the beleaguered city. Just then, Jim's eyes flashed open, his danger sense kicked into overdrive. He looked out of the cockpit, and could see the smoke rising from the city.

'What's going on?' he wondered.

'I don't know. But it looks bad, whatever it is.' Krystal communicated through thier rapport.

'I can feel it. I'm gonna convert.'

'But, your energy has not been completely replenished yet. If you transform now...'

'Krystal, if I don't, then more innocent people will continue to die.' She didn't like it, but he had a point. light started to swirl around him, as the transformation progress took hold.

Alpha-twelve could feel Jim close by. His orders on that were, should the Ultra make itself known, to make a hasty retreat. The Ultra raised its arms up, forming an 'X' shape at its head, then swung them down with a shout, teleporting itself. Fox and Falco were puzzled by this.

"Where'd he go now?" Falco asked. Fox looked around as well, but could not see him, or find him on his scanners, short range, or long range. Just then, Jim appeared from behind them, in his fourty meter tall height.

"Oh, I get it. Trying to sneak up on us, eh?" Falco said, as he let loose a warhead at Jim. The Ultra barely managed to evade it, as it exploded against a building, turning it to ice. Jim looked at it in disbelief, then turned his expression back to the arwings.

'Guys, what are you doing? It's me!' Jim shouted at them, through his telepathy.

"Yeah, we know it's you, awright." Falco said, as he let loose another warhead, aimed at his head. Jim dodged this one, but caught a nova-bomb in the chest, making him fall backwards. He was lying face up, his warning light flashing. Krystal was right, he had yet to fully replenish his power.

"Finally, we're making some headway." Falco said. As Jim got up to a sitting position, both arwings started to close in on him. Just then, another arwing came in between them, and faced the other two. Both Fox and Falco saw Krystal in it, and both were a little surprised by this.

"Fox, Falco, what are two doing?" she shouted.

"Back off, Krystal! This guy just tore the city apart!" Falco said.

"What are you talking about?" she shouted

"It's true, Krystal. Jim was destroying Corinthia City when you showed up."

"That's ridiculous. Jim was with me, this whole time."

"Are ya sure, Krys? 'Cause the guy who took down Slippy, and nearly turned us into barbecue, looked an awful lot like Jim." Falco replied. She couldn't believe it. Even when she looked into thier memories, she couldn't believe it. But sure enough, they were fighting Jim, just as they said.

'Or, someone or something that looked like him,' she thought. Jim uneasily got to his feet, and Fox reacted. Before Krystal could do anything besides shout "Fox, no!", Fox let loose a warhead, right for Jim's heart. He blocked it with his arm, but the limb, from hand to shoulder, was frozen solid. Jim yelled in pain at the freezing process, as his arm was now no more than a frozen appendage. He cradled it, as he looked on at Fox. He felt a burning rage in his heart. Concentrating with everything he has, His frozen arm started to glow, and the ice around it shattered, freeing it. Jim flexed and moved it, getting feeling and movement back into it. Satisfied, he turned his gaze back to the arwings. He growled, clenched his fists, and got into his battle stance. Then, he sent two shredding halos thier way. They dodged them, but were not as lucky with the Spacium Kousen he sent after them. Fox narrowly dodged it, but Falco caught it in his wing. It burned half of it off, reducing its speed and maneuverability.

"Jim, please! Stop this!" Krystal pleaded. However, her words fell on deaf ears. Jim gathered as much energy as he could around him, and into him. When he felt that he had enough, he sent it at the two craft in a powerful, sunshine-yellow beam, fired from both of his arms outstretched in front of him, his hands turned to fists, touching eachother on the sides. This time, the attack hit home, but not before both pilots ejected from the craft, sparing them from an incinerating death. Fox and Falco landed on the street, and were joined by Slippy, who was hiding nearby. All three of them looked up, and drew thier blasters. The Ultra was looking over them, his fists clenched, his warning light flashing steadily. They fired upon him, but he didn't feel a thing from thier attack. Then, he raised his hand in the air, where blue/white energy swirled around it, and entered his hand. After shouting "Spaciummu...", he swung his hand down, and brought it into a cross shape, with his left hand in front of the right. He was about to shout "Kousen!", but a familiar looking arwing came in front of him before he could finish.

"Jim, don't do this! Don't become a monster yourself!" Krystal shouted. Jim froze in his stance, the energy still glowing in the edge of his hand. Slowly, he lowered his hands, the glow fading. He looked at Krystal, and nodded slowly. Krystal could feel the pain inside of him, but he kept it in, refusing to show weakness in front of the others. He looked at the team on the ground, as if to regard them, then looked up. With a loud "SHUWATCH!", he was flying through the sky, with an arwing flying behind him, close by. On the ground, Falco and Slippy looked at Fox. The vulpine brought up his communicator on his wrist, and said "Peppy, this is Fox, over."

"Read ya loud and clear, Fox. I'm swinging the Great Fox by now. What do you plan on doing next?"

"We're gonna bring Jim in, dead or alive." Fox said, signing off. The others looked on at him, as the vulpine walked away. Both of them wanted to say something, but after what had just happened, neither of them could bring themselves to say anything.


	20. Addleson's Opus pt1

Chapter 20

Addleson's Opus Pt.1

Great Fox, in orbit around Corneria: "So, Jim has turned, has he?" General Pepper said, his voice sounding tired. The report was given to him by Fox, personally. The news of Jim attacking and devastating Corinthia, not to mention attacking the Star Fox team, has more than troubled the Cornerian general. The holographic image of the wizened blood hound portrayed the look of exhaustion well, to the grouped Star Fox team members.

"General, you must send out a general alert. Have all available forces on the look-out for him. Jim is now unpredictable, and extremely dangerous." Fox said, authority covering the obvious pain in his voice.

"We are already on it, Fox. Looks like our greatest fear has come, eh? I'll be in touch." Pepper signed off. The team looked at eachother in the silent briefing room. The team, minus one blue-furred vixen, and one Ultra/human hybrid. Fox looked at the empty seats, and wondered just how long it will be, until they tracked down and subdued Jim, before he kills anyone else.

In Corinthia City: Krystal was passed out on the couch in Faye and Miyu's pad. Jim was likewise upstairs. The snow-white collie was rooted at the foot of the steps, always watching Jim's door.

"Do you buy Jim's story? About him being cloned by some sort of mad scientist?" Faye asked, still rooted to the spot.

"At this point, I'll believe just about anything." the Lynx said, after making sure the vixen was comfortable. Jim and Krystal arrived at the pad, just after his short battle with a misled Stat Fox team. When the pair entered, both collie and lynx threatened to turn them away, for fear that Jim had gone rouge.

"Please, you don't understand! That wasn't me!" Jim pleaded rather weakly. He was being helped by Krystal, who also looked tired.

"Oh, yeah? prove it!" threatened the collie. The news was on, and Jim saw the latest. Alpha-twelve was tearing through the city, and the team was engaging him. That was when he noticed it. After making his way to the screen, his eyes went wide.

"There! Right there! Can you freeze this image?" Jim asked, rather frantically. Miyu grabbed the remote, and pressed on it, freezing the image of the Ultra-clone perfectly. Jim pointed to the metallic face.

"His eyes. His eyes are not glowing!" he practically shouted.

"Is that important?" Faye asked. Gathering as much power as he could, Jim transformed, and proved the difference. Jim's oval 'eyes' glowed brightly, while the clone's were dull, not shining at all. Faye, Miyu, and Krystal looked back and forth, until Jim reverted back to his Ultra form from exhaustion.

"Please... believe me... I was... being cloned..." he said, panting. The transformation was taking its toll on him, now that he was doing it more frequently.

"Cloned by who?" Faye asked.

"Doctor...Addle...son..." Jim collapsed from exhaustion after he said the name. Krystal went to his side and tried to prop him up onto her shoulder, but was too heavy. Miyu grabbed his other arm, and both took the young man upstairs. Afterwards, Krystal collapsed on the sofa, and fell asleep almost instantly. That was two hours ago. And, as if to be some sort of dark omen, storm clouds started to blot out the sun in the sky. Miyu looked out, and saw lightning dancing across the sky, and thunder played its rumbling music to complement the light show. A brilliant show of electricity at its best. Faye was often afraid of such spectacles, and this time was no exception. As the collie looked up, she could not help but feel a sense of icy dread go down her spine, to the tip of her tail. Miyu looked up in awe, as the spectacle unfolded above her.

Same time, Jim's room: The dream once more. He was floating in the endless void of space, the stars countless pinpoints of light all around him. He looked down at himself, and saw that his hands and arms were silver, with red. He was in his Ultra form. Jim looked around, and saw a light approaching him. Jim tensed, ready for anything. Then, the light became a blinding radiance, and the Ultra had to shield his eyes from the brilliance. When his eyesight had become accustomed to the glare, he could make out a shape in the light. It was humanoid, with female-like curves.

"Who are you?" he asked.

"A friend." the entity answered with a melodious voice. "Please, you must listen to me. Do not always believe what you see at first. Not everything is what it appears to be."

"What do you mean? Are you talking about how Fox attacked me?"

"Yes, that is one. Also, the clone and its creator are another. All are connected in some way. You have to find out how."

"Fox had something to do with the clone that devastated the city? But... that doesn't make any sense..."

"As I said, not everything is as it appears to be. You must find the truth, before all is lost. Please, do not be tempted by lies."

"Whose lies? What is going on here?"

"There is one, who is able to turn friends into enemies. Please, be wary of her."

"'Her' who? Who should I look out for?" Jim shouted. But by then, the radiance dissipated, and the blackness enveloped him.

Jim awoke to the sound of thunder outside his window. He sat up, and saw lightning dance across the sky. He got out of bed, and went out of the room. After making his way downstairs as quietly as he could, he saw that the lynx and collie were both staring out of the window in the dining room. He saw Krystal passed out on the sofa, and smiled to himself. When the floor creaked when he stepped off of the stairwell, both anthros turned, and saw the groggy Ultra/human slowly make his way to them. He sat down at the bar, and stared out of the same window that they were.

"When will all of this end? When will I be able to relax, and not have to be hounded by everyone, especially by the very people whom I thought were my friends?" he said out loud. Both anthros gave him quizzical looks, and Jim slightly chuckled at this.

"I suppose you are wondering what I meant when I said that I was being cloned, right?" Both of them nodded. Jim told them what the Labrador at the secret installation told him, about Addleson having taken an interest in him, and had gotten his demented paws on some of his genetic material, thus started the cloning process. Both of them took all of this in, but found it hard to believe. Both of them Dr. Addleson was a geneticist, several years, decades even, ago, but was dismissed from the field of science, due to his 'questionable' means of research. No one has seen him since. To think that he has resurfaced, seemed unlikely. Yet, there were monsters popping up everywhere, and an Ultra clone had just appeared.

"If Dr. Addleson has reappeared, then there is no telling what he may do."

"I do." Jim said. "He has succeeded so far."

"You mean, having Star Fox after you?" Faye asked. Jim nodded.

"Addleson is not the only one after me. In fact, he's only an underling for something even worse."

"What?"

"Gorzul." Jim said, rather in a low growl.

"What is 'Gorzul'?" Miyu asked.

"A whole lot worse than the good doctor. Addleson does not know it yet, I'm betting, but he may very well be being manipulated by Gorzul. Such is the way with evil like this."

"so, the dark Ultra, and that Babalu guy, are all working for Gorzul?"

"Yeah. Addleson thinks he has control, but he is being manipulated by them. As soon as he has out-lived his usefulness, they'll execute him without a moment's hesitation." O

"But why? What could they possibly have to gain from using him?" Faye asked.

"To put us on the wrong trail. Or to prepare Lylat for his arrival."

"Okay, but, when will this 'Gorzul' guy show up?" Miyu asked.

"I don't know. God help me, I do not know." Jim said, resting his head into his hand. He felt all of the past few weeks start rushing in on him. First, Fox confiscates his Brace, hoping to eliminate his ability to transform. Then, he gets pursued not only by Fox and co., but also by the late Dr. Addleson, using Babalu, Dark Faust, and kaiju to try to apprehend him. Then, he gets cloned by him, and said clone goes on a rampage, framing the real Jim, leading him into an unwanted conflict between him and Star Fox, and now, he's the most wanted person in the galaxy. 'What more could possibly go wrong?' Jim thought, dismally. He looked behind him at a sleeping Krystal. She had her hands under the side of her head, and looked like she was in a deep sleep.

'I can't put her through this, not any more.' he thought once more. Jim got up from his stool, and stood over Krystal. He placed a hand on the side of her face lightly, and the blue vixen stirred, ever so slightly. He turned to face the Collie and Lynx, tears forming in his eyes.

"I want you to do something for me."

"What's that?" Faye asked.

"When I'm gone, do not, I repeat, do not, tell her that where I am going."

"Why's that? Where are you going?' Miyu asked.

"I'm going to find Addleson, get some damned answers, then I'm going to send him screaming all the way to hell." he finalized with a growl and a clenched fist. Faye looked at Miyu, who kept her focus on Krystal. Then, she looked back at Jim.

"Why don't you want Krystal with you?" she asked.

"Because, he doesn't want to see her get hurt. Right?" Miyu said.

"Partially. She has been through more than she should have. I have dragged her around with me, all over the place. She has suffered more than you know. For God's sake, she almost turned on her teammates for me!" he almost shouted.

"No one should have to go through that. Not for anything, or anyone. Make sure that she doesn't follow me. I don't care if you have to tape her to a Goddamned chair, just make sure she doesn't come after me." The tears came freely now, rolling down off of his face and landing on the carpeted floor, leaving stains.

"But, aren't you in the same position as her?" Faye asked.

"It's me that they're after. Even though I've known them for almost a year, I will retaliate if I have to." With this said, he removed the Star Fox badge on his left pectoral, and placed the winged fox emblem on the counter. He turned to the collie and lynx.

"Take care of her. She's the best damned thing that ever happened in my miserable existence." Both of them nodded. He turned back to Krystal. He placed a hand on the same spot as before, and the blue-furred vixen placed her own hand on his and seemed to slightly smile.

'I'm so sorry that you had to suffer like this. Maybe, when this is all over, we'll see eachother again, Krystal.' Jim thought, tears coming down. He turned to the pair, then headed out the door, not looking back.

Unknown area, short time later: Addleson was sitting in his lounge chair, looking out of the view, gazing at the city that will soon be his, and his alone. There was a knock at his door, and he bid the person to enter. The figure stepped in, and Addleson turned to face Alpha-twelve, still in his white uniform.

"Well, my good boy. Get enough exercise?" he asked with a smile.

"I still don't see why you don't send me after him." Alpha-twelve said, in a voice that was slightly deeper than Jim's. His uniform was slightly wet, due to walking in the rain, but he didn't pay it any mind.

"So, I see that you have found your voice. As I have said before, you are not powerful enough to take on the Ultra. If you went up against him, as you are, you'd only be digging yourself an early grave. We must lure him to us, get the power that he has, and transfer it to you. Then, with his power, shall you truly be invincible. And then, I will start on my ultimate goal." he said with mad glee.

"What about your other experiments? You still have monsters that you have created, and have yet to use."

"True. But, all of them pale in comparison to you, my son. To me, they are all worthless. They cannot bring me to my ultimate goal."

"And, what about the others? Babalu, Faust, and the one called Claire? What will you do with them?"

"Once you have your full power, I will let you dispose of them as you wish." Addleson said, grinning broadly. Little did he realize that the afore mentioned persons were listening outside. When Alpha-twelve came out of the door, he turned to them, his expression always a blank. "You were right; he was planning on getting rid of you three, once I was perfected."

"Figures. Men like him are always the same; once they get a new toy, everything else is next to meaningless. And meaningless things have a knack of getting in the way." Claire said, the lupine having her arms folded across her chest.

"When will I get to kill him?" Faust asked, cracking his knuckles.

"When it suits us best, my impatient friend. However, I do believe that company is on its way here." she said, almost seductively. She was wearing a predatory grin, and a gleam in her eye when she said this. "You two know what to do." she said two Faust and Babalu. Both of them nodded, and ran down the hall to the left. She turned to Alpha-twelve. "And you, my friend, have a special role to play in this scene." Claire said, while the clone lifted an eye-brow.

At the same time: Jim was standing outside of a large building. It was still pouring, which some how made it feel appropriate for him. He could still hear Miyu's words in his ears

'Jim, wait!' The human stopped just short of the first step, when he turned to face the lynx who had halted him. She pulled out her PAD, and asked for Jim's. Puzzled, he did so. After linking the two up, she downloaded some data from her own PAD, and onto Jim's. When he received it, he looked over the information. It had the location, design, and logo of the Cornerian Mental/Physical Health Institute. Jim paid a visit there, when he first joined the team for a required physical. They had all of his health records, and personal information. Suddenly, he found out how Addleson found out about him.

'This is where Addleson worked, right?"

'More than that, he built that place. Said to have the first brick himself." the lynx replied.

'Why give me this?'

'Because that bastard put you, Krystal, and the Star Fox team through hell, just to get to you. He deserves to die.' she said, coldly. 'Give him a kiss for us, okay?' she finished, smiling. Jim nodded, returning it with a grin, and ran off. Now, Jim stood in front of the institute, thinking 'Well, Miyu, looks like he'll receive that kiss after all.' After he said that, Jim converted to his Ultra form, and flew up, and landed on the roof of the several story tall building. After that, he balled up his fist, and started to pound on it with all of his might, causing a large hole on the first strike.

Faye and Miyu's pad: Krystal stirred from her slumber, and rose up from the couch. Wiping the sleep from her eyes, she looked around. 'I must have dozed off,' she thought. She looked up at the clock, and saw that she was out of it for a good three hours. Krystal made her way upstairs, to Jim's room. After knocking, she slowly opened the door, and expected to see the human still asleep in his bed. However, she saw no one inside the room. After closing the door, she made her way hurriedly downstairs, where she ran into both Faye and Miyu. The collie was coming in from outside, while the lynx came from the dining room. Both of them looked up, and froze.

"Have either of you seen Jim?" Krystal asked. They shook their heads, and Krystal walked to the dining room, and sat down on a stool, worried, wondering where the Ultra/human hybrid went to. Both collie and lynx looked at eachother.

'Poor Krystal. She went through a lot for him. Now I see why he wanted us to watch over her.' Faye thought. Krystal picked it up. Her ears twitched, and her eyes lit up from their gloomy expression, as she focused them on the pair.

"You _do_ know where he is, don't you?" she practically shouted. Miyu caste a glare at Faye, who cringed from the lynx, saying "I couldn't help it." innocently.

"Where is he? I need to find him." she said hurriedly.

"Jim told us not to let you go, for your own protection." Miyu stated.

"My own protection?" she scoffed. "He knows that I can handle myself as well as he can."

"It's more than just that. He doesn't want you to get involved anymore, because he doesn't want you to do anything that both of you are going to regret. He said that you almost fought Star Fox. What would happen if you should take them on for real?" Miyu challenged.

"I don't care about that. Right now, he needs my help, and I'm not going to just stand by, and let him fight this alone!" she shouted. Faye and Miyu gave her a funny look.

"What?" she asked, irritated.

"Oh….my….God….." Miyu said.

"What is it?"

"You're in love with him, aren't you?" Faye asked.

"What? N-no, I'm not. I just care for him, that's all."

"More so than Falco, Slippy, or Peppy? More so than Fox?" Miyu asked. Both of them were walking slowly towards her, while Krystal backed up, also slowly.

"I find that hard to believe, especially since you had a major crush on the fox-boy not too long ago." Miyu finalized. Krystal backed into a wall, and tried to grip it.

"Is it true? Are you falling for him?" Faye asked? Krystal began to look this way and that, trying to look for any avenue of escape, but finding none. Sweat was starting to appear from nervousness, and she looked frantic.

"I-I don't know what you're talking about! He's my friend, and I care about him!" Krystal tried to reason, even though she knew they wouldn't buy it.

"Again, even more so than the Star Fox team? You are in love with him, aren't you?"

"No, I am not!"

"Yes you are! Jim probably felt it from you, and wanted to see that you were safe. That's another reason why he left you here! Because when he did return, the first thing he'll see is your smiling face again!" Miyu shouted herself. "Admit it! Admit that you are falling for him!"

"Stop it! I'm not-I don't…" Krystal fell to her knees, as Jim's words played out;

'Krystal, I'll always hold you close to my heart.'

"No…"

'I was wondering, what it was that you really felt for me.'

"No… It's just…"

'It seems as though, everything that was good that has happened in my life, was because of you.'

"It can't be…"

'I will return to you… love.'

"I can't have… I can't have…" All of these thoughts were going through her head at the speed of light, and Faye and Miyu were picking these thoughts up as well. Whenever Krystal got excited in any way, or felt strong emotions from herself, she would often, albeit inadvertently, throw her own thoughts and emotions into others. It was common among her Cerinian race, and Krystal proved it especially. Both collie and lynx were experiencing what it was that Krystal was feeling; denial, disbelief, not wanting to believe it was true, but at the same time, they also felt realization, revelation, and an intense knot of emotions that they could only describe as tenderness. Tears were going down Krystal's muzzle, as she wept quietly.

"Fine. I admit it." she said, rather sullenly. "I have fallen for him. I have fallen in love with him. Are you two happy now?" she practically yelled, angry tears coming down her white-fur face, as she looked up at them. The pair looked at eachother.

"It doesn't matter now. Because now, I may never be able to tell him this…"

Then, both collie and Miyu stepped out of Krystal's way, making a pathway to the front door.

"Wha-what are you doing?" she asked.

"That's all we wanted. We wanted to know, whether or not you really did love him." Miyu said.

"You know how big suckers we are for love stories." Faye said, grinning slightly. Krystal couldn't but smile herself. She got up, and embraced them both.

"Thank you." she said quietly. After Receiving the same data as Jim did, Krystal made her way to her arwing, and headed out for the Cornerian Mental/Physical Health Institute.

At the institute: A Cornerian soldier was making his rounds. As he rounded a corner, he estimated how much time he had left, before his shift ended. Too bad he did not calculate how fast he would lose consciousness, when something really hard hit him from behind. The soldier dropped like a bag full of bricks, and Ultraman Zenith walked out from behind him. Deciding to keep his Ultra form, Jim snuck into the institute knocking out guards and security personnel left and right. As he rounded the corner, what he saw hardly surprised him; behind a door marked 'Top Secret: Level S Clearance Only', Jim opened the door, and the sight sickened and disgusted him. In formaldehyde jars lining shelves through out the room, were fetuses. And as he looked closer, he saw that the fetuses, were all human. They were the unborn clones, taken from his own genes. Some of them looked perfect others looked too horrible to describe. Jim left the room, but promised to be back later. After making his way from the freak-show that he had witnessed, he ran afoul of some guards.

"Hey, look! One of the clones escaped!" one of the three exclaimed. A terrier came forward with a pair of handcuffs, meant for Jim.

"Okay, freak. Let's get you back to the asylum, where the rest of your kind belongs." As Terrier snapped the cuffs on, Jim inwardly smiled.

"There's just one problem with that, sir." Zenith said in his distorted voice, catching all three of the guards off guard.

"I'm not one of your freaks." The second he said that, Zenith pulled his arms apart, snapping the cuffs like match-wood. The guards started to step back, as the Ultra advanced on them.

"Y-you keep the hell away from us!" one of them yelled. All of them had their rifles trained on the Ultra, and were shaking like dead leaves in the wind. Jim brought his hands together, and fired his slash-ray at them. The three guards were hit, and after sending out sparks, all of them laid dead at Jim's feet. Zenith regarded them for a moment, then walked away, down the corridor the dead guards came from. After several twists and turns through a seemingly endless maze, he finally came across something that he thought would prove useful; the records room. Zenith tried to open the door, but he looked beside it, and saw a keypad. He smashed it with a fist, shorting it out, and the door opened. He stepped inside the dark room, and closed the door behind him. Guided by his glowing yellow eyes and warning light, Zenith made his way forward, and stopped in front of a large screen. In front of it, was a console and work chair. Zenith tapped a few keys on the console, and the screen came to life. He looked behind him, and saw that he was still alone. He turned his view back to the screen, and saw the words 'password required' flash on the screen. Jim memorized the data that was given to him from Miyu, including the 'password', that she just so happened to find. After typing in the password, the screen switched to several different log entries. Zenith reverted back to his human form of Jim, sat down, and decided to do a little research.

Else where, at the same time: Babalu and Faust were in the lower part of the institute. Their orders were simple; gather as much of Addleson's experiments as possible. While the good doctor was busy getting his vengeance plotted out, he created some horrific mutations and monsters, all to be used in some sort of twisted army. That was before Jim showed up, though, and Addleson discarded the plan, in favor of cloning the Ultra. The room that the two were in was massive, with the ceiling at least several hundred feet above them. Along the corridor were several cage doors, and behind the doors, claws, tentacles, and shrieks of unholy torment and rage sang out. Still human size, the two aliens looked at eachother, and nodded. They each got on one side of the room, and pulled out a foot-long, rectangular device, with three square shaped panels on the top. On the side, were several cards, each one with a bar code and a blank photo.

"I wonder where Claire got her hands on these Battle-Nizers." Faust said. Babalu merely shrugged. The Battle-Nizer was a device specifically used for the capture and control of Kaiju. Each Nizer was capable of holding several capture-cards, and the user would be able to control several monsters at once. Only a handful of these devices were thought to exist. At least, in the Ultraverse anyway. Babalu and Faust began to toss cards to and fro, each card landing on the appendage of some horrible mutation. Then, after being sucked into the card, the cards themselves would return to the Nizers. When Babalu and Faust had all of the monsters that they were able to carry, they gave the place one last look, and left.

In orbit around Corneria: Great Fox was circling the planet, awaiting further instruction from General Pepper. Fox in his quarters, getting some quick sleep, when the alarm went off. Startled, Fox jumped out of his bed, and ran out of his room, and to the control head. When he got there, the remaining team members were already assembled. And on the view screen, made Fox's heart jump; Ultraman Zenith was floating in front of them, arms crossed, as if daring them to attack. Fox made his way forward, when the Ultra spoke.

"Star Fox, I have come."

"What do you want, Jim?" Fox almost shouted. The Ultra chuckled, and continued.

"I want you to lay down, and die. That's what I want."

"What was that?" Falco shouted. Fox's lips curled up in a snarl.

"You have no chance against me. As you well know, I have powers beyond your comprehension, and I want to see what you can really do about it."

"Stop talking in circles, and get to the point already!" Fox yelled.

"Very well. I will attack and destroy a city on Corneria. Your choices are A; sit back, and don't get hurt, or B; assure your annihilation, and try to stop me."

"Wait! Why are you doing this ? I thought that-"

"You thought what, old hare? You thought that I was on your side, right? Well, I was once, but not anymore. I have obtained my full power, and I have no further use for such weaklings like you. I'm doing this, because….I…can." Zenith finished with a sneer in his distorted voice. Fox had just about heard enough. Friend or no, if he threatens Corneria, and has the nerve to taunt Star Fox about it, then he's asking for an early grave.

"Everyone, battle stations! We're takin' him down _now_!"

"Hmph. I knew that would be your choice." Zenith flew off, towards the planet. In moments, three arwings pursued him to the planet, on a grim mission that maybe none of them would return alive from.

Corneria's surface, near a populated area: Alpha-twelve was still in his Ultra form when he landed near the city. His mission was to lure the Star Fox team away from Corneria, just long enough for Claire to finish her mission. The arrogant taunt he sended did the job well. Star Fox was already in the atmosphere, heading for him. He stood in front of the city, arms folded once more, waiting for them. When the arwings were floating in front of the fourty-meter tall being, Alpha-twelve glanced back, towards the city, then back at Star Fox.

"Well, you caught up to me. I wonder now, if you are able to stop me. You may be the legendary Star Fox team, but an Ultra is something that you have never faced before, now is it?"

"It doesn't matter who you are, Jim. You threatened Corneria, and taunted us about it. In my book, that makes you public enemy number one." Fox snarled. Falco's eyes narrowed, while Slippy's grip tightened. All three of them were ready for action, and Alpha-twelve did not disappoint. He fired the slash beam at them. They easily evaded the attack, but saw Jim fly into the city, and crash into a building, sending rubble onto hundreds of bystanders. That was when Star Fox flew at Jim, firing nova-bombs and charged shots at him. Alpha-twelve brought up his light barrier, and the bombs and shots were deflected off of the shimmering shield, flying into structures, and the people below. Alpha-twelve laughed at the destruction that was being caused, as he fired his slash beam, and sent shredding halos every which way, destroying everything.

Cornerian Physical/Mental Health Institute: In Addleson's office, the pug was going over some documents and data, when he noticed that the fur on his hand was turning color. Becoming frantic, he pulled out a drawer, and searched its contents. He pulled out a small red case, and opened it. Inside, was a syringe with several small vials. All of the vials were empty. Downtrodden, he placed the case back into the drawer, and closed it. He looked on into the view. 'Not like this. It wasn't supposed to end like this.' he thinks sadly, as he waited for the inevitable.

Krystal landed her arwing behind the institute. After breaking her way in through the back, she used her rapport with Jim to guide her to him. After what seemed like an endless maze of stairs and turns, she could finally feel herself getting closer to him. After rounding a corner with dead guards, she found a door that was slightly ajar. She opened it, and saw someone sitting at a large screen, going over some information. The screen darkened, and Jim got up to face a surprised Krystal.

"Kr-Krystal?" Jim asked, stunned. The blue-furred vixen simply nodded, and smiled.

"I thought I told those two to keep you back at the pad!" he almost shouted.

"What, and let you have all of the fun?" she asked, still smiling. Jim looked away, not wanting to look her in the eye. He wanted to keep her out of this, so she wouldn't have to suffer any more pain that he might put her through. Krystal came up, and embraced the human.

"They told me why you left me. But you must remember; I came with you of my own volition. I do care about Fox and the others, but helping you seemed more important. Plus I…. uhm, well I-"

"HEY! You two!" both Ultra and vixen turned at the shout, and saw a Cornerian soldier bring up his rifle at them. In a split second, he fired. Jim barely had enough time to get in between her and the shot. For humans, such a feat would be impossible, but then again, Jim's not really human anymore. After taking a few shots to the abdominal, the vest was able to take the brunt of the damage, but it still hurt like hell. Jim converted to his Ultra form, and took the guard out with a shredding halo, beheading him. The corpse fell, and both Ultra and vixen ran out, and to the right. After a series of turns, they came to a door, and entered it. When they shut it behind them, what they saw, made their hearts stopped; inside large tanks of clear liquid, were Jims. Fully grown, musculature clones of the Ultra in his human form. Krystal took a step toward one, and placed a hand on one of the tanks. Suddenly, she remembered what it was that Andross did, just before he was defeated by Fox McCloud and co. She could feel the life in the clone, and the power that was inside of it. Suddenly, its eyes opened, revealing steel grey eyes, the same that Jim has. Krystal was caught off guard, and stumbled back from the tank. She looked over at the Ultra/human, who was staring at another tank, with his own hand on it. This one's eyes were open as well, and looked like it was looking at Jim.

'It is a clone of Jim, maybe they feel something from eachother? What would a clone feel from its original, I wonder?' she thought. Jim did not look at her, but kept his focus on the clone. Then, the clone's hand pressed against the glass, against Jim's hand. Then, the vixen saw a tear go down the human's face as he looked at the clone, as if he regretted what he was going to do next. Jim converted to his Ultra form, and then converted to his 'Powered' form. The cerulean-eyed Ultra looked around him, then took up his Spacium Kousen stance.

"Krystal, get behind me." Zenith said, in his distorted voice. As she did so, the cross-shaped beam erupted from his fore-arms, the blue/white ray destroying everything it touched. Soon, the room was totally destroyed, and only ashes remained of the clones. Alarms went off, lights switching from fluorescent-white to emergency-red. The pair ran out of the room, and headed down the hallway. After rounding the last corner, they reached a pair of large doors. Zenith kicked the doors in, and the pair entered the room. After shutting the doors, Zenith looked behind him, and beheld an extravagant office. Paintings adorned the walls, and a several gallon fish-tank was built into the far right wall, with several kinds of fish swimming in it. In front of a large view, was a desk and large office chair, with an all-too familiar figure sitting in it.

"Alright, Addleson, give this up! Call off your clone, and we can settle this peaceably."

"Not like this… it wasn't supposed to be like this…" Addleson said, looking down, defeated. Krystal and Zenith looked at eachother, then at Addleson. Zenith made his way to Addleson's desk, and stood beside him, while the pug repeated over and over "Not like this, not like this…."

"What wasn't supposed to be like this?" Zenith asked, kneeling next to the pug. The pug looked at him with sad, blood-shot eyes, that lit-up a bit.

"Oh, it's-it's you… Alpha-twelve….did you… complete your mission? Has my retribution been carried out?" Zenith looked at Krystal, who kept her focus on Addleson. He was going insane, and depression was sinking in. Most likely, due to the experiments he had done on himself to keep himself young over the years. Zenith nodded at her from receiving the information, then turned back to Addleson.

"Yes, sir. Everyone now knows you, for the great scientist that you truly are."

"Oh, I'm so glad. You, my son, are my masterpiece, my greatest accomplishment, my…. Opus…." with that, the pug fell forward, his body withering away, turning into dust. Zenith used his Ultra-vision to find the cause.

"His body was suffering from a side-effect from the experiments he performed on himself. Although they kept him young, they could only hold out for so long, before they would eventually wear off and his body's metabolism would hyper-accelerate, making him age into dust." Zenith explained. Krystal felt sorry for him, as did Zenith. Zenith walked over by Krystal, and stood beside her.

"We should go. We have what we need, right here." Zenith said, pulling out a PAD from behind him, then replacing it. Krystal nodded. She thought of her arwing, and Zenith teleported them to it. In front of the institute, Claire was walking away, then she pressed a switch in her hand, setting off the charges that she had set in the building. She smiled as the destruction ensued behind her. Few people were around, but those that were, were either forced to the ground by the explosion, or stood agape at what had just happened. Even Jim, now reverted back to his human form and Krystal could only stare at the burning, smoking remains, as Addleson's remains went up in smoke, but his legacy continued on, in the form of the Ultra-clone that he had unleashed upon the world. Jim wondered, if he would be able to defeat him, before Star Fox misguidedly defeats the real Jim.

At that time: Alpha-twelve was enjoying himself. Not only had he torn half of the city apart, but Star Fox was virtually helpless against him. The team still used the liquid-nitrogen warheads, but those caused more harm than good, on account of Alpha-twelve dodging and deflecting them at every turn, making the warheads dispense their contents on helpless innocents. Fox was getting to the breaking point, though he hid it all under his cool exterior. How long he can maintain it though, even he does not know.

"Alpha-twelve, this is Claire. Mission has been accomplished, I repeat, mission has been accomplished. Head for our new area of operations, as soon as you are done having fun." Claire's voice rang out in the clone's head. The clone nodded slightly, then turned to face the team.

"Hey, Fox! You know Krystal, right?" Fox's ears perked up at the vixen's name.

"What have you done to Krystal?" Fox shouted.

"Only everything, my friend." Alpha-twelve sneered. Fox was horrified at what he implied, while Slippy and Falco could only imagine.

"And she loves it. She loves the fact that I use her, because she says that I am the only one that she trusts. She just can't get enough. Heh he. Of course, I'd have to exercise some control. After all, she can only take so much. Hah ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Fox's grip just multiplied, and he surged his arwing forward, sending all of the nova bombs and L.M. warheads in his disposal at the Ultra. The Ultra merely brought up his forcefield, deflecting all of the attacks, sending them in opposite directions.

"You lie! No way in hell would she ever do that!" Fox yelled.

"True, that she was unwilling at first. However, once I….'convinced' her, she found me irresistible." Alpha-twelve continued to sneer in his distorted voice, reveling in the team's horror and disgust. Then, all of them converged on the Ultra at once, firing everything that they had at him. The projectiles were not deflected this time, as they appeared to hit home. And when the dust settled, there was nothing standing. Fox was panting, thinking that he had destroyed the monster for good.

"Fox, above us!" Slippy shouted. All of them looked up, and saw the Ultra floating above them, and issued an amused chuckle before disappearing. In his arwing, Fox let loose a scream of rage, and pain. Rage at the fact that he had been betrayed by a friend, and that he was using another for his own sick ends, and pain, at the fact that there is nothing that he could do about it at the moment. When he was done, he still had plenty of the feelings left, and he swore on his father's grave that he will be the one who will end Jim's existence.

"No matter what, I will make you pay for this Jim. I swear it." Fox snarled.


	21. Addleson's Opus pt2

Chapter 21.

Addleson's Opus pt.2

Faye and Miyu's pad: Jim was sitting on the sofa, with Krystal sitting next to him. After downloading all of the available data from Addleson's personal logs, they were able to get the size of the situation, and it didn't bode well for them, especially for Jim. As the image of Addleson's pug face filled the screen, he started to speak;

"Journal entry 178564, Zulu time, 2076 Cor. time. It would appear that I have succeeded in creating the first clone, only to have it die just shortly after birth. I have made modifications to the other clones, but I still have doubts. The genetic material obtained from the original Ultra are almost impossible to work with. I have tried everything, from gene sequencers to DNA history. But, as I was informed beforehand, his is truly a unique race. Found nowhere else in this universe, my contact told me that the Ultra would be my key to retribution on all those who wronged me decades ago. Most of them are dead and buried, but their descendants know who I am, or rather, who I was, and shall be my target." The screen shifted slightly, as the entry ended and a new one began.

"Journal entry 178662, Zulu time, 2076 Cor. time. After a dozen failures and modifications, I have finally succeeded! The twelfth generation of clones has survived past the first few hours of birthing, and is growing rapidly. For him, years of growth and development are but moments. He has already reached adolescence within several hours, and is continuing to grow at an amazing speed. Is this the result of my hard work? All those years of researching and struggling to find the perfect being, are they now beginning to pay off?"

"Journal entry 179015, Zulu time, 2076 Cor. time. After but a few days, Alpha-twelve has reached maturity. He has shown full cognitive abilities, and his motor skills and functions are working perfectly. Soon, he will be ready for testing. Even though he is the first to survive to maturity, I must make sure that he is the ideal candidate, for I fear that, my new associates have dire plans for me, and for my creations."

"Journal entry 179115, Zulu time, 2076 Cor. time. Alpha-twelve has shown remarkable progress; he has almost all of the same abilities as the original, as well as his likeness and characteristics. He has proven to be vastly superior to all of my previous creations. His programming and conditioning have made him loyal to me, and only me, no matter what. Even if I am to die, he will still carry on my plans. However, there is something else; after going over his previous CAT scans and brain scans, there seems to have been an abnormality, suggesting that the clone may become unstable. More than that, his recorded thought patterns are like those found in mental patients. Have I, in my search for the perfect being, created the perfect monster? Unfortunately, my supply of youth serum is now running dangerously low. In my time creating and perfecting Alpha-twelve, I have neglected to make more. I fear, that I will be unable to see my masterpiece reach his full potential. I have made this last entry for one reason; my associates, I believe, have ulterior motives other than my own. For that reason, I have decided to leave this document behind. Even though I wanted to recreate this world in my image, I had no desire to destroy it. These people, may try to use Alpha-twelve to do just that. Alpha-twelve, as I had said before, is far more powerful than any of my past creations, easily one of the most powerful beings ever born. However, like his predecessor, he shares a susceptibility to extreme cold. Also, despite his abilities, he is not yet fully developed. I had hoped to have him absorb the original's power, to make him complete. When I am gone, he will no doubt go and try to find this Ultra, once he has gained enough power on his own. Until then, he will try to avoid him, carrying out his last order of causing mayhem, and leaving the original to blame. This plan was to be implemented, as a capturing method for the original. Now, it will be one of Alpha-twelve's goals; create as much havoc as possible, and destroy the original Ultra. He will become an engine of destruction. He will become a Dark Ultra, as I believe my associates called it. If the original Ultra gets his hands on these recordings, I pray that he can stop him in time, before he destroys everything. He was to be my masterpiece, my opus. He was to be…. The perfect son for me. Addleson out." The screen went blank, after a teary eyed pug signed off, sounding close to weeping when he said that the clone was to be the perfect son. Jim and Krystal felt sorry for him.

"All he ever wanted was recognition for his work, as well as….a family, I guess," Jim said, sadly. Krystal merely nodded. Behind them, someone blew his/her nose, and they saw Faye wiping her muzzle with a paper towel, tears in her eyes.

"Th-that was the saddest thing, I ever heard." she cried. Jim and Krystal merely looked at one another, then back at the blank PAD.

"That doesn't matter now," the Ultra/human hybrid said, getting up, and walking to the sliding glass door, looking out of it. "What does, is that he is in the hands of Babalu and Faust."

"Not to mention, that he's crazier than Andross was," Miyu said, standing next to Faye. "Also, the military and Star Fox are after you as well. What are you going to do about that? Sooner or later, they will find you here." Jim thought on that, then Krystal came up with, what seemed to her, a solution;

"We'll need to disguise ourselves." she said plainly.

"Great, but how?" Jim asked, not turning from the door.

"I can use dye to cover up my blue fur."

"That just leaves Jim. He'll be easy to spot in public."

"Good thing that the public doesn't know who I really am, then." he said, almost under his breath.

"But we can't take the risk. We need to do something." Jim thought long and hard, until something occurred to him; certain Ultras were able to create their own disguises. The most famous of these is the legendary Ultraseven. However, as far as he could tell, the Ultras were only capable of creating human disguises, partly in fact that they were humanoids themselves at one point. He didn't think any of them had ever done an anthro before. "What the hell." he said aloud.

"What is it?" Faye asked.

"I think I may have the solution to my problem."

"Well, are you going to keep us in suspense, or what?" Krystal asked, smirking slightly.

"Never mind that now. Just go buy the dye that you need, and meet me here in about an hour or so." With that, Jim headed upstairs, leaving a confounded trio of anthros downstairs.

Unknown area, at that time: Claire was in her ship, followed by a floating Babalu and Faust just outside, gliding through space. She would've preferred them in here, where they won't be spotted. However, they complained about being crammed in here, and rather than listen to them whine, he let them out. The only ones inside, were herself, and Alpha-twelve, who sat in the co-pilot's seat, in a relaxed position, eyes closed.

'He looks dead. However, I can still feel the energy inside of him. He's waiting, hoping for the right moment for him to act. He'll still need to rely on us for a bit, but sooner or later, he may find us to be little more than a nuisance. I'll have to keep a close watch on him.' she thinks to himself. All the while, the clone dreams of one thing; ultimate power, and killing Ultraman Zenith.

Faye and Miyu's pad, about an hour and a half later: Krystal and co. had just got back from the shopping center, each carrying a bag of stuff. Krystal went up to Jim's room immediately, and when she opened the door, what she saw made her root to the spot, mouth open, and unable to say a word; standing in front of the mirror, was another vulpine, this one red, with a white chest, abdomen, and his tail was tipped with white, and he seemed to be examining himself in the mirror. At first, she thought that it was Fox, but that was impossible. Then, she noticed the eyes, they were steel grey, just like

"Ji-Jim?" she asked, her voice really quiet. The fox turned, and immediately tried to cover himself.

"Jesus, Krystal! Haven't you ever heard of knocking?" the fox yelled, trying to cover his waist with a towel on his bed. After securing the towel around his waist, he turned to the blue-furred vixen, who had recovered a little bit from her shock. She came forward, and began to feel around his body. She felt the fur, muscles underneath, the muzzle, ears, and she even grinned slightly when she came down to his groin area, giggling a little bit.

"Come on, seriously?" Jim asked, with an annoyed expression. She moved back, and looked at him, up and down, then into his grey eyes.

"How….can this be?" she asked.

"Certain Ultras are able to create disguises, to blend into their surroundings better. Although, as far as I knew, they were capable of only human disguises. I just wrote a whole new chapter in their book." the fox-Jim said, grinning. Faye and Miyu entered, and they wore the same expressions as Krystal did.

"Wh-who are you?" Faye asked, uncertain.

"Who do you think, Faye?" Jim asked, smirking.

"No….way." Miyu said.

"So, this was your solution. Not bad." Krystal said.

"'Not bad'? He's freakin' gorgeous!" Faye practically shouted. Jim turned slightly to face the collie, wearing a disbelieving expression, then turned to Krystal, jutting a thumb at her, his face asking 'what the hell is wrong with her?'

'Well, you can't really blame her, now can you?' she communicated, telepathically, grinning.

'Oh, that's just perfect! Girls were staring at me before when I was human, now all that the military and the Star Fox team have to do to find me, is follow the large crowd of females gathered around me!' Jim mentally shouted. Krystal tried to suppress her laughter, but it came out, in all its glory as she pictured Jim with a large harem of women around him. After several moments, she regained her composure, and Jim wore an annoyed look on his new vulpine features.

'You really know how to take a serious situation, you know that?' he asked through their rapport. Krystal couldn't help but smile amusingly. Jim turned, and Faye was still staring at him. 'Dear God, she's starting to drool,' he thought, irritated.

"Hey, princess! What the hell are ya staring at!" Jim asked, getting irritated. Faye was barely out of her trance, answering with only a "Huh?" with a dopey expression on her canine features. Miyu shook her head, and dragged her comatose friend with her outside, saying "We'll leave you two alone, won't we Faye?", with the afore mentioned collie answering with a "Uh-huh," in the same expression. Jim turned back to Krystal, who looked at him.

"What was it that you were going to say?" Jim asked.

"What?"

"Before, in the institute, I asked why it was that you followed me there. You were going to say something before that guard showed up. What was it that you were going to say?"

Krystal recalled what it was that she was going to say, but didn't know how to put it into words, but Jim could feel it in their rapport.

"So, that's how it is, is it?" he asked, grinning slightly. Krystal blushed slightly, and turned away. Then, Jim put his hands on both sides of her face, and turned it to meet his on eye level. He never lost that smile, and Krystal felt relaxed by it.

"In the time that we have been together, I never felt for you like I have for anyone else I have met." Jim said. Krystal's blush just increased, and both of them hardly noticed that their noses were slightly touching. Then, when their lips met, their eyes closed for the longest time.

A few minutes later: Krystal was in the bathroom, applying the dye on her body. It was a full-body spray, that worked better than the conventional kind. As she sprayed it over her fur, she couldn't help but think on what it was that Faye, Miyu, and Jim had said.

'Maybe, he and I were destined to be together. At first, I had a crush on Fox but Fara was already in his life. Then, just shortly after the Aparoid Invasion, Jim comes along and steps into my world. At first, the fact that he was a human put me off, but now that he is a vulpine like me…" she was caught up in her thought, that she realized a little too late that she was applying just slightly too much dye on her tail, turning it from blue to a dark red, darker than the rest of the dyed places. She was scrubbing it off furiously, still thinking on the fact that Jim was now a vulpine, and what the future may hold for them.

Half hour later: Krystal came down, her fur turned from sky-blue, to a bright red like most other vulpines. Jim was in his uniform, flipping through channels, trying to find a news station. Krystal snuck up behind him, when he said "Nice try, but

A. I heard your foot steps,

B. I smelled the dye on your fur,

and C. I felt you through the rapport." Jim said, smiling broadly as Krystal embraced him from behind as he sat on the sofa.

"Still trying to find anything about your clone?" she asked.

"Yeah. So far, all I got is that he attacked a city not too far from here. While fighting the Star Fox team, he really did some major damage to it, and the loss of life is said to be appallingly high." he stated plainly. Krystal rested her head next to Jim's, feeling his own facial fur against hers. It was still unusual to see her friend like this, considering that she always saw him as a human, and as an Ultra. Jim felt this, and smiled slightly.

"I don't plan on looking like this forever, ya know. I still like to look like a human sometimes." he said, chuckling. He turned to face Krystal, and was taken aback somewhat. While hers was not as drastic a change as his, seeing Krystal as a bright red vulpine, and not a light blue one, was still a little unsettling.

"Well, what do you think?" she asked, getting up, and in front of Jim. After looking her up and down for a few seconds, he opened with "Would you hurt me, if I said that red just isn't your color?" with an innocent smile.

"Yes, I would. I would inflict horrible, indescribable pain unto you, that even your Ultra form would not protect you against." she replied, not losing her own smile.

"No comment, then." Jim answered. Krystal laughed a little, and sat down next to Jim, wrapping an arm around his neck. "Jim, what are you going to do about this? Even you find the clone, he'll just get away again, like last time, and then you'll have to deal with Star Fox, and the military."

"I know. I've already gotten in touch with my superiors on M78."

"Really? what'd they say?" she asked, getting slightly excited.

"They said, that they'll try to send someone over here to help, although I was against it."

"Why were you against it?" she asked, tilting her head.

"The last thing that we need right now, is to make a scene. If more Ultras show up, the Lylat system would probably take it as an invasion, given what's happened already." he said plainly.

"Good point." Krystal replied, discouraged. "But, who will they try to send here?"

"They don't know yet. I just hope that it's someone who's had some experience with this sort of thing." Just then, a thought struck him.

"Krystal, how much money do you have left?"

"I don't know, probably another thousand or so. Why?"

"Because, I need to know how we are doing, financially. I don't know how long this thing will take, and we need to be kept well liquidated."

"Well, how much do you have left?" Krystal asked. Jim turned to her, smiling slightly.

"Oh, not much. Just enough for now."

"Really? And how much is enough?" she asked, raising an eye-brow.

"You'll see, soon enough. Anyway, we need to get word out about this clone, and I think I know who may be able to help us."

"Who?" Krystal asked.

"Same guy who signs our paycheck." he replied grinning.

General Pepper's office, some time later: General Pepper was at his desk, per usual, going over the latest reports about 'Jim going rogue'. 'I still can't believe it. I know that Fox was a bit hard on the boy at times, but that's hardly any reason for him to turn on us like this. I wonder-' the general's thought was cut off, when his PAD's chime went off. He switched it on, and the message on it read 'If you are looking for the reason behind Jim's sudden rogue actions, here's the reason why. Be prepared for a shocking and enlightening development.' Then, the message switched to Addleson's face as he retold his log entries. After he finished the last one, Pepper turned his PAD off, and put his index finger and thumb to his eyes, feeling fatigue and like he had been made a fool out of.

'Of course it was Addleson. Who else besides him and Andross would even consider creating such a weapon? I thought he had died decades ago, but I guess that the past has a way of recurring when one least expects it.' General Pepper removed his hand from his face, and looked up at the ceiling, wondering just how he is going to break the news to his military, and to Star Fox.

Great Fox, in orbit around Corneria: Fox was still fuming about what Jim had done, and the words were still going off in his ears; 'She enjoys it, being used by me. I'm only doing everything to her, and I have to take it easy, since she can only take so much.'

"I swear to God, Jim, I will kill you with my bare hands for this. When I find you, I will make you pay for all that you have done. Not just because it is my duty, but because you betrayed us, and what you're doing to Krystal….' he gagged at the image of what he thought Jim was doing to the blue-furred vixen. Just then, a chime went off on his PAD, and the image of General Pepper filled it.

"General! Is there any news on Jim?"

"Well, there's been some recent development on the situation, if that's what you mean."

"I don't follow." Just then, the PAD was filled with Addleson's visage, as he went over his journal entries. Fox's jaw continued to drop as he took in all that the pug was saying. When it was over, the image switched back to General Pepper.

"Wh-what the hell was that?" Fox almost shouted.

"That…was doctor Thomas Addleson."

"Addleson, you mean the paleontologist?"

"He was, at one point, a brilliant geneticist. It was because of him, that our modern medicine had progressed so profoundly. However, like a certain other scientist whose name I won't mention for obvious reasons, he became unstable. After a horrifyingly failure in an experiment, he disappeared for several decades. Apparently, he resurfaced recently to exact some sort of vendetta, or to prove he was a great scientist, or maybe both." the blood hound shrugged.

"Wait, you said several _decades_ ago? The person I saw couldn't have been older than thirty five."

"Apparently, he synthesized a rejuvenating serum to keep himself younger, though with apparent side-effects. The main thing is that, he's gone for good, but left behind a terrible legacy."

"Yeah, his Ultra clone." Fox was suddenly thinking what the clone had said and done, and what he himself was saying just mere moments ago.

"Fox, you must find Jim and Krystal. Only an Ultra can stop him."

"Right! I only hope that, he can forgive me for all that I put him through." Fox said, rather sullenly. Pepper signed off, and Fox stared out of the viewport. 'Jim, I'm so sorry.' With that, he got up out of his chair and out the door. He made his way to the command head, and the rest of the team therein.

"Everyone, we're headin' for Corneria, and we're going to find Jim and Krystal."

"That's all well and good, Fox, but how are we going to find them? It's not like they have tracking systems built into them or anything." Peppy said

"Besides which, you heard what Jim said. We can't follow him, or he'll destroy another city." Slippy chimed in.

"Actually guys, I have a very amusing story to tell you guys. You remember the name Addleson, right?"

Corinthia City, at around that time: Krystal was walking arm in arm with Jim down a park. They looked like an ordinary couple, on account of Krystal having her blue fur dyed red, and Jim using his Ultra abilities to shift his form into that of an anthro. He felt, for the first time in a long time, normal. The other anthros passing him by either glanced at them, or simply acknowledged them, rather than stare at them.

"I should've done this a long time ago." Jim said, smiling broadly. Krystal shared the smile, not saying anything. She felt the same thing herself, albeit not as profoundly as her friend did. They wandered around for a bit, watching the children play, and other couples walking. It had been awhile since either of them had any time at all to relax. After the little stroll, they went to a diner, and just looked out of the window while they ate. Jim's thoughts were mostly on the clone business, and where and when he might turn up next.

'We have to destroy him. If not, at the very least, we must expose him completely, make it so that he can never hide again. Even if I were to show up at the exact same place and time as him, what good would it do? The differences between us are so slight, that telling us apart is almost impossible. The only real difference is that his eyes don't glow, and mine do, and that's not much to go on.'

'You are worrying too much. Relax a little, like we planned. Brooding over this is not going to do anything except tire you out.' Krystal communicated through their rapport.

'Per usual, you're tendency to be right annoys me to no end.' Jim thought with a smile. Krystal returned it, feeling her friend relax a bit. Although, he did bring up a point. Even if he were to confront the clone, how would Fox and the others be able to tell them apart? The main difference between them is the eyes, and even she missed that part. Jim said, making it so that he won't be able to hide anymore, unable to masquerade and impersonate Jim any more.

'But how? How will he be able to accomplish that?' she wonders to herself.

'By exposing him for what he truly is.' Jim answers via telepathy. Krystal was caught a little off-guard by this, and glanced at Jim, who continued to stare out of the window.

'How are you going to do that?' Krystal asks.

'I'll figure something out,' he replies, via rapport. He felt a furry paw on his own, and saw Krystal's red-dyed hand on his. He looked up, and saw Krystal smiling warmly at him, and he returned it as best he could.

Inside Corneria's atmosphere: Alpha-twelve was entering free-fall. Converted to his own Ultra form, he was human sized to avoid detection. Soon, however, he will stand at his fourty meter tall height, and lay waste to something. It wasn't for any real, or strategic reason, really. He just wanted, really badly, to cause some serious damage, a side-effect of the abnormality in his brain. He picked no city in particular, just one that he was closest to. After slowing his descent, he was no more than a white streak to those on the ground-level, easily mistaken for an aircraft. He touched down near Corinthia, and started to make his way out of the wooded area, his white uniform not having so much as a run in it. When he was just outside of the city, he could feel himself grin in anticipation. Then, he decided to make things more interesting. After reaching out with his mind, he felt, to his surprise, that Star Fox was already in Corneria's atmosphere. He felt the grin widen to a broad smile as he sent out a telepathic message;

'Hey, Fox. I just thought that you should know, that I'm outside of a major city right now.' Fox McCloud, and the rest of the able-bodied team, were in their arwings, just about to touch down inside Corneria City. When Fox received the message, he felt the hackles on the back of his neck stand up.

'We know what it is that you really are, Alpha-twelve!' Fox mentally shouted. Alpha-twelve's smile instantly disappeared, replaced by shock and surprise.

'Wh-what did you just….'

'We know that you are really a clone of the original Ultra! We know that Addleson created you to be the perfect being. But believe me, you are far from being perfect! Jim is stronger than you can ever hope to become!'

'So, my little secret is out, is it? Who else knows?'

'So far, just us. And Jim, undoubtedly. When he gets his hands on you, I'd hate to think about what he'll do to you.'

'You'll both have to catch me, first. You know that I am a clone. But, I am so similar to him, that at first it was impossible for you to tell us apart. What makes you think that you can now?'

'We'll figure something out, Alpha-twelve. Just you wait, we will be coming for you. For what you've done to Jim, to us, and to the innocent people that you've so callously slaughtered, there can be no forgiveness.' Fox communicated with a growl.

'Ha ha ha ha ha! That's a bit dark for the legendary hero of Lylat, isn't it? Then again, I suppose that lower life-forms such as yourselves must rely on eachother for survival, unable to stand on your own two legs. I will give you a half-hour to locate me. After that, well, you already know what will happen then, won't you?' Alpha-twelve signed off, laughing.

"Okay, team, you heard him! We have thirty minutes to search and destroy this maniac before he hurts anyone!"

"But Fox, what about Jim?" Slippy asked.

"I'm not worried about him. I just hope that, wherever he is, that he'll forgive us, forgive me, for all that I've done to him." Fox said sullenly, as the three ships split up in different directions.

Corinthia City: Jim and Krystal have been monitoring the conversations between the team and Alpha-twelve. Jim smiled a bit when he heard what Fox had said.

'Fox, as soon as we find and kill Alpha-twelve, I'd like for you to say that to me, face to face.' he thought, grinning. Krystal shared his smile as well.

"Jim, how are we going to find Alpha? There must be dozens of cities on Corneria, large and small." Krystal said. They were walking towards the pad, when they caught the conversation.

"Since he's based off of me, his telepathic message would have to be sent from someplace pretty close to the team. Hell, he could be near this city, for all we know."

"If he is, then we should try to find him now."

"There's a problem. If you recall, the first time he made his appearance, he bolted the first instance he caught wind of me. I need to conceal myself, so that he won't be able to feel me out, and that means that I can't use any of my mental abilities. And neither can you for that matter."

"Why is that?"

"If he feels you out, he'll more than likely assume that I'll be close to you. No, we have find him the old-fashioned way. If only I had my brace for this…."

"Why think about the brace, now?" she asked?

"It has the ability to detect other Ultras besides me. If I had that, then I'd be able to find him." Then, an idea just formed in his head. He looked to Krystal, who felt what it was that he was thinking, and nodded in agreement. After converting to his Ultra form, Zenith held Krystal close to him, and both were teleported to the Great Fox.

Nearby, on the other side of a large city: Fox was finishing his sweep of the area, but not detecting any anomalous energy readings, or noticing anything out of place. He spent ten minutes going around the place, before throwing in the towel.

"Falco, Fox. Tell me you found something."

"Nada, Fox. This place is absolutely evil-clone free." the avian said, after finishing his sweep over another city.

"How's about you, Slippy? You find anything?" Fox asked.

"Only un-destroyed buildings and happy pedestrians, Fox. Wherever he is, the clone ain't here." the amphibian said, circling around for another sweep. Fox swore to himself. Of course he wouldn't make it this easy. That only leaves about several other cities left, before the clone made his move. But still, the team continued the search.

On board the Great Fox, docked at Corneria City: Jim and Krystal were in Fox's office, going through his drawers and personal items, trying to find the Spacium Brace that Fox had confiscated from the human some time ago.

"Dammit! Where'd he put the stupid thing?" Jim whispered angrily to himself as he went through Fox's drawers, and turning up nothing. The Ultra/human automatically returned to his human form, on account of the teleportation draining the energy needed to maintain it. Krystal went through his cabinets, and found nothing. Just then, she felt someone approaching.

"Jim, the door!" Krystal almost shouted. Just then, the door opened, revealing a surprised Peppy. Jim stood there, stammering before finding his words.

"Peppy, listen, you gotta believe me. I'm the real Jim, not the clone."

"I know. If you weren't, all you would do is just tear the ship apart with your bare hands. Anyway, I saw you two 'ported your way over, and guessed what it was that you were after. Turns out, that I was right." he said, reaching behind him, and pulling out Jim's Spacium Brace. The shocked Ultra/human walked over, and the brace turned into light, and attached itself to Jim's arm. He rolled up his sleeve, and the brace was once more on his right fore-arm. He looked at the old hare, tears almost forming in his eyes.

"Thanks, Peppy." Jim said, sounding a little choked up. The hare merely nodded, slightly smiling. Jim turned to Krystal, and asked "Krystal, how much time do we have left?" the vixen looked down at her watch, and said, rather sullenly "Only five minutes."

"Plenty!" Jim said. He closed his eyes, and bent his arm upwards at the elbow. The brace glowed a crimson glow, and started to pulsate. Then, he found the clone, and he was

"Oh, shit! He's just outside Corinthia!" Jim shouted. "We need to get there, now!" As both vixen and Ultra/human ran past the old hare, Peppy brought the wrist-watch/communicator to his face.

"Fox, this is Peppy."

"Go ahead, Peppy."

"I just got word, the clone is just outside of Corinthia. Repeat, the clone is just outside of Corinthia!"

"Got it Pep! You guys hear that?" Fox asked. The others said that they did. Then, the three craft left their respective cities and made a b-line to Corinthia.

Corinthia City: Alpha-twelve was walking down a street leisurely, not paying attention to the stares he got from the anthros and others. He ducked into a nearby alley, away from everyone's notice, and began his transformation. After energy swirled into him, he swelled to fourty meters, and was standing over most of the buildings. He looked around at all of the scared and shocked people, not that he would ever call them that.

'These things, are just as animalistic as the creatures that they so profoundly resemble.' he thought disdainly. Then, he brought up his right arm, and fired an energy bolt, the attack striking a building, and blowing chunks out of the infrastructure. The debris fell on the people below, crushing them. Others screamed, and tried to get out of its way. Alpha-twelve was enjoying himself, as he usually did when he inflicted pain and suffering upon others. He was walking down a street, stepping and trampling on anything and anyone unfortunate enough to be in his way. Then, Star Fox arrived at the scene. They watched the carnage unfold before them, and immediately went into action. They unloaded their nova-bombs, and they managed to get a few lucky hits in, making the giant doppelganger stumble forward, grunting in pain as the explosives made contact with his unprotected flank. He whirled, and sent energy blasts their way, but the nimble fighters easily dodged the attacks. The arwings spun around, and let loose a few charged shots, only to have the giant swat them away with his bare hands. Just then, another arwing appeared, though the combatants failed to notice it. It landed a few hundred meters away from them. The cockpit opened, and Jim was climbing out of it. Just before he could get clear of it, a red-furred vixen grabbed him, and gave him a kiss on the lips. He pulled back, confused.

"For luck." Krystal said, smiling. Jim nodded, and jumped down. The arwing hovered into the air, and flew towards the battle at full speed. Krystal let loose a nova-bomb that caught an un-awares Alpha-twelve in the chest.

"Hey, boys. Mind if I join?" Krystal asked, smiling.

"Krystal!" Fox shouted happily. "Where's-

"Don't worry, he'll be along shortly." she said, cutting him off, hoping that the clone won't hear. And, it appeared that he didn't, for he was still trying to swipe at the arwings with his hands. The craft nimbly ducked and weaved out of its way. Alpha-twelve was getting tired of this game, and decided to end this now. After back-flipping away from the craft, he raised his right arm, where energy gathered around it. He swung it down, then brought his arms up in a plus-shape, and fired a blue/black beam, his own version of the Spacium Kousen. The arwings got out of the way, except for Slippy, who caught it in the fuselage, albeit slightly.

"Fox, I'm hit!" the amphibian shouted in dismay. Jim was on the ground, keeping himself hidden from the clone, until the time was right for him to reveal himself. And, it looked like now was the time, as he saw Slippy's fighter plummet from the sky. He knew what he had to do; After bringing his brace over his heart, he placed his left hand over the brace, then swung both arms out, crucifix style, and shouted "GAAIIYYOOO!" The shout was loud enough for the clone to hear. He whirled, and was knocked back by a huge ball of light. He was sent flying several hundred meters back, crashing through buildings, and finally coming to rest after impacting against a sky-scraper. He looked up, and saw an all too familiar Ultra standing before him. Fists on his waist, Ultraman Zenith was waiting for his clone to make his next move. Alpha-twelve uneasily got to his feet, saying

"Dammit! _You're here too?_" After stumbling back up, he took off into the sky, hoping to fly away. Zenith wouldn't have any of it. He sent a shredding halo at his clone, and the attack tore through his left flank, making him yell in pain. He plummeted from the sky like a stone, and crashed into some more buildings. He bled red blood from where he was cut, and he was holding it in pain.

"I didn't know Ultras could bleed." Falco said.

"They don't. Another giveaway that he's nothing more than a pale imitation. Another is their eyes. Look at their eyes." At Krystal's mention, they saw both of the giant's eyes, and saw the difference right away; Zenith's was glowing a bright yellow, whereas his clone's eyes were dull and lifeless, like a doll's eyes.

"Okay, team. We have our target!" At Fox's command, the four arwings flew up behind Zenith, ready to back up the giant defender. Alpha-twelve looked at them. At first, he felt afraid. Then, he felt overwhelming anger. Growling in rage, he charged at Zenith. Only, he wasn't the target. After doing an aerial axle over his head, Alpha-twelve landed behind the other Ultra, and fired his slash-beam at the arwings. Unable to react quickly enough to the clone's attack, the four arwings were hit, and had taken serious damage.

"I've got this guy. You four, get to cover. The last thing I need right now, is your deaths on my conscious." Zenith told them, in his distorted voice. Neither of them could argue that they were in pretty bad shape. After getting clear, Zenith got into his combat stance, and faced his clone. The clone placed a hand over one end of the wound, and moved the hand down. When doing this, the cut where the hand passed had completely healed. When he removed the hand, there was no sign of where he got sliced by Zenith's shredding halo. Alpha-twelve got into his own combat stance, this one has his left arm bent upward, behind the head, with the fingers on his hand outstretched, as if to perform a karate chop. His right arm was straight out in front, albeit slightly bent at the elbow, hand also in the position of delivering a chop. Then, he made a 'come hither' gesture with his right hand at Zenith, hoping that the warrior of light would take the bait. He did. Both Ultras collided with eachother, hands locked in death grips and trying to overpower the other. Then, Zenith kicked Alpha in the gut, making him stagger back, and a spin kick to the face sent him down again. Zenith got in his battle stance again, and Alpha got to his feet, more quickly and aggressively. Then, they traded blows. Each one countering and striking at almost the same time, their grunts ad shouts could be heard for almost miles around. Zenith went for a judo chop, only to have his clone block it at the last minute. Countering, the clone tried a side kick, but Zenith brought up his own leg to guard, and pushed Alpha away. Just then, each of them threw a punch, and both blows connected with their fists, the noise from the impact being loud, and the shockwave the impact had made from the enormous energy from the two blows rattled teeth. Then, they locked wrists, and brought their silver helmet-like faces just inches from eachother. With a tremendous shove, Alpha sent Zenith stumbling back, and threw a cross in his face, the blow making him fall, and the sound of the strike satisfyingly loud. Even the Star Fox team flinched when Zenith was hit. Zenith got back on his feet and faced his clone. Alpha-twelve laughed.

"Anything that you can do, I will do even better, 'brother'." Alpha said, saying the word brother with a sneer. "I have been made to be the perfect being, the ultimate life-form. And my first task, was to eliminate you. An all too easy chore, for one such as I."

"You sure do talk a lot, even though we are both evenly matched. Even if you were to train for hundreds of years, you would never be able to defeat me. You the product of a delusional mind, in the hopes of achieving an otherwise impossible goal." Zenith stated, raising a fist at his doppelganger. "You claim to be the perfect life form. So tell me, why does the perfect life-form bleed?" Zenith asked. Alpha tilted his head in puzzlement, until Zenith gestured with his own fist. Alpha looked at his own, and saw the blood coming down, from where the blows collided mere moments ago. He stared at it, shocked. He remembered how Zenith's shredding halo had made a deep gash in his body, but the damage was easily repaired. This was nothing. He swung down his fist in a rage.

"That means nothing! You must bleed as well!" Alpha shouted, and sent his own shredding halo at Zenith, hell-bent on decapitating him. Zenith brought up his arm, and swatted the halo away, sending it slicing through several office buildings before disintegrating.

"Impossible!" Alpha shouted, shaking with rage.

"There you have it. Whereas my halo cut you, yours couldn't even faze me. Like I said, created by a delusional mind, in the hopes of accomplishing an otherwise impossible goal. Impossible, because you cannot pull it off in your state, not with the weak power that you have." Zenith stated plainly. Alpha brought up his trembling fists, and raised them and his head in the sky, and issued a cry of rage that no Ultra or sentient being could utter. This was the cry, of a monster. Then, still growling, he lunged at Zenith. Before he could tackle him to the ground, Alpha was soundly repelled by Zenith's Spacium Kousen, the blue/white beam lancing across his muscular chest. After being blown back several meters, Alpha stumbled to his feet. Then, Jim shifted to his 'Powered' form, and made a stance; he brought up his arms over his head, then brought them down, shoulder level, cross style. They were glowing with energy, and he brought them together to form an 'X' in front of his warning light. A topaz-colored beam shot forth, and struck Alpha in the chest. As soon as the beam hit, it looked like alpha's body was being distorted in some way, then, when the beam died, Zenith and the others looked on at Alpha's new body with shock; no longer red and silver, the new being had the red replaced with black, and it looked to be coming down off of him, the way paint comes down off of a flat surface. His eyes now glowed, but they glowed a deep, blood red. The clone looked down at himself in horror.

"From now on, that is the body you shall take. Never more will you take my likeness, and despoil my image. Never more shall you impersonate me, and leave me to blame for your misdeeds. Now everyone knows what it is that you truly are, monster." Zenith Powered said, raising a fist at the Ultra, his cerulean eyes glowing brightly. Alpha could only look in horror at himself, and issued a new cry. This time, he fired his own Spacium Kousen at Zenith, only to have Zenith fire his own Giga-Spacium Kousen. Both beams collided, as the blue/black beam fought against the cross-shaped blue/white. However, it wasn't long before a victor was chosen, and blue/white overtook the blue/black. The beam hit Alpha in the chest, and sent him screaming, flying several hundred meters away, before coming down with a crash. After he lowered his arms, Zenith's warning light started to flash at a slow, steady pace. Alpha's also flashed at the same pace. Then, Zenith made a new gesture; he brought up his arms over his head once more, making the wrists meet, forming another 'X' shape above his head. Then, he brought the arms down shoulder level, and brought the hands toward the center of the chest, the tips of his fingers just touching his warning light. All the while, golden energy and light had been gathering into his flashing warning light. After the energy had been completely absorbed, Zenith swung out his left arm, shoulder level, and the right arm was bent at the elbow, the energy gathering from the warning light, and into the limbs. When the left arm was out, Zenith shouted, in his deep voice, "_**MEGANIUMMU**_-", then, he brought the left arm to meet the right arm, the hand closed to a fist, the fist meeting the inside of the forearm. As soon as he made this gesture, he shouted "_**KOUSEN!**_" From the tips of his fingers, to the elbow, a bright golden beam erupted from his forearm, and blasted its way to Alpha-twelve. The clone was trying to get his bearings back, while Zenith prepared for the attack. After trying vainly to guard, the clone was knocked back several hundred meters more, right outside of the beleaguered city. Then, the clone disappeared in the light. Ultraman Zenith, in his Powered form, looked at the skid mark from the clone, as he tried to guard against the blast, as it went all the way through the city, and to the wood line. He held that pose of his left arm meeting the right arm for a few moments, before lowering his arms to his sides. Then, he looked behind him, and saw the people standing amassed behind him, the crowd keeping a wide berth from the gigantic being. Then, he turned to face them, and the crowd tensed. He brought up his hand, and flashed them a 'peace' sign with a grunt. Krystal saw this, and smiled. Zenith looked up into the sky, and with a deep, loud "_**SHUWATCH!**_", he was flying into the blue sky. The arwings followed, and the crowd cheered, long and hard.

In orbit of Corneria: Zenith, still in his Powered form, was bathing in Lylat's light, taking in the life-giving energy that he needed to maintain himself. The team watched on in wonder as the being soaked up the sunlight. Then, Zenith made a gesture, with his reaching an arm out, as if to touch the star itself.

"You can't know what it's like, to feel the power of the sun at your fingertips. You can't know the sensation of the energy flowing through your very being." he said, sounding like he was talking to himself. However, Krystal knew that he was acknowledging the arwings floating behind him. He turned to face them, and if he didn't have a silver-helmed face, he would be smiling at them.

"My friends, shall we go home now?" Zenith asked.

"Of course, Jim." Fox answered. Zenith nodded, and the four arwings, plus one now shrunken Ultra, made their way to the Great Fox, in orbit around Corneria. The four arwings entered the hangar first, with the anthros jumping out of their fighters.

"Hey, Krystal! What's up with your fur?" Slippy asked, looking at the red vixen as if not seeing her before, while the others shared the same expression. Krystal laughed a little, and said "It's a long story." Then, Ultraman Zenith Powered entered the hangar, his warning light glowing a steady blue. He looked from member to member, and they in turn gazed at him. Making a gesture with meeting his arms at the wrist in front of his chest, Ultraman Zenith reverted to his human form, and Jim lowered his arms to his sides. Fox came forward, and stopped just a few feet from Jim.

"Jim, I just wanted to say that, I'm sorry for the way that I acted. I shouldn't have taken your brace from you. I was stupid, and wasn't thinking right." Jim said nothing, keeping his face emotionless, and hard as stone.

"I would really like you back on the team. In this new war, we need someone like yourself, much as I hate to admit. Usually, we can take care of ourselves, but not this time I guess." Jim looked at the vulpine, and raised his right hand, the hand open, arm-wrestling style. Fox gripped it, and Jim gripped his hand tightly, grinning broadly and nodding his head. Fox returned it, and laughed out loud. Then the rest of the group converged on the two figures in a group hug.


	22. Preparing for the Coming Storm

Chapter 22

Preparing for the coming Storm

It has been three days since Jim and Krystal returned to Star Fox. After Alpha-twelve's destruction at the Ultra's hands, the Star Fox team went back to a semblance of normalcy. Krystal was able to wash out the dye on her fur, and Jim was back to writing again. However, the threat of Gorzul hung over everyone. Jim briefed the team on everything he knew about Gorzul, which wasn't very much, since the Ultras didn't have a lot of data on it anyway. Not much is known, aside from the fact that it is considered to be a spirit-like entity that is able to assume any shape that it wants; from a humanoid to a free-floating vapor, it can become just about anything. It has the ability to summon and control monsters, bending almost any organism for its own twisted ends, it will use any means necessary to achieve its ultimate goal.

"And what goal is that, precisely?" Peppy asked. The team was gathered in the conference room, while Jim briefed them on Gorzul.

"What all those who thrive on evil want; power. Gorzul is pretty much the stereotypical power-hungry villain that my kind have tried time and again to eradicate from the our plane of reality. And now, it's found its way here." Jim stated. He told the team everything about his past; from the time he spent in his native reality on M78, to Gorzul's release, to the present.

"It seems to be interested in more than just power. From what we know so far from Earth's destruction, and the monsters and others that you went up against, I'd say that thing is coming for you." Falco said.

"It is coming for me." Jim replied. "It knows that I am an Ultra, and an Ultra is the only type of being with the capabilities to stop it."

"But Jim, I thought you told us that this thing _kills_ Ultras. How are you going to stop it?" Slippy asked. Jim looked at the faces looking at him, the same question evident on everyone's expressions. Jim looked away briefly, not knowing what to say. Then, he remembered that the Krazoa said that he can defeat it, as soon as he reaches his true potential. He inhaled, and exhaled, saying "By any means, necessary." The team looked at eachother, then back at Jim, who still kept his hard expression.

"So, what's our next move?" Falco asked. Jim thought for a moment. Since Addleson was dead, as is his clone, Gorzul has probably lost his only contact in the Lylat System. That means, that it will only be a matter of time until it comes here personally to settle things. That is, if it did lose its only contact. Who knows how many people that it has in its sway.

"We prepare." Jim stated plainly.

"Prepare for what?" Fox asked. Jim turned away, and stared out of the view port.

"For the coming storm." he replied at last. The team looked at eachother once more, than back at Jim. The Ultra/human never took his face from the view of space.

Unknown part of space, several million light years from Lylat: "My liege, we have news that Addleson has died. What do you want us to do?" an ebony-armored figure asked, kneeling before a robed shape sitting upon a throne on top a flight of steps. The two were in a large room, that was almost completely dark, save for the faint glow from lamps at various places strewn across the bare halls, serving as the only means of illumination. The hooded figure looked down, as if to regard the black-armored knight, then answered.

"Are the others alive as well?"

"Yes, my liege. Babalu, Faust, and Claire are all alive. Do you want for them to carry out your last orders?"

"Yes. Have them prepare the Lylat System for my arrival. Then, you will personally go to the world known as Corneria, and lay waste to the little world to your heart's content, in my name." The ebony clad knight looked up suddenly, as if excited.

"My liege, I feel honored and privileged to have been selected for this task."

"It was no contest on who it should be. You, of all of my creations, have proven to be the most dependable, and efficient. Remember. I want you to lay waste, but be sure to leave the majority of the population intact. After all, what is a new empire, without slaves?" The hooded figure chuckled evilly at this, as did the knight.

"Now, go, Kaza-Miin. Give them thier instructions, and when they give you the signal, well, you know what to do at this point."

"Of course, Lord Gorzul."

Lylat System, in orbit around Corneria: The team was awaiting orders from General Pepper. As usual, they were often gathered in the lounge area. Well, all except one. Jim was in his room, typing away on his laptop, working on his own literary project. After coming to terms that he will never again read anything made by human hands, he decided to try to keep the human literature alive as best he could, by making his own. His current work, was still the underwater trench/prehistoric eco-system yarn, that he has been working on for awhile. Given the recent madness, he has hardly found any time to finish it. Now, however, he was nearing the last few chapters. There was a knock at his door, but he didn't hear it, on account of his headphones being turned up to full. Krystal poked her head through the crack of the open door, and saw the young man typing away. She felt his complete attention on his latest project, and decided to sneak in. She crept silently towards the unsuspecting human, and opened her arms wide, as if to embrace, and was about to lunge forward.

"Don't even think about it, vixen." Jim said, not turning from his monitor, and removing his headphones from his head. He was still typing away, while Krystal froze in mid-lunge, then let her arms droop to her sides. She still embraced him from behind, and watched the words be typed onto the screen.

"You know, you're no fun anymore." she pouted, playfully.

"Not my fault that you're losing your touch. Maybe it has something to do with aging." he shrugged. She stepped back, shocked.

"Are you saying that I'm growing old? I'm only twenty one!" she retorted.

"Right, and that's how long in vulpine years?" he returned, smiling to himself.

"I'm still just as lovely as when Fox found me on Sauria, and he said that I looked beautiful." The vixen tried several poses beside the human, trying to get his attention. Jim looked at her briefly, and turned back to his monitor. Krystal stared at Jim, disbelieving that he ignored her.

"First, do something about your complexion, your starting to wrinkle a bit. Also, you have a few grey hairs showing. Don't believe me, go look in the mirror, and you'll see." he said. Krystal glanced over at his mirror, then back to him, before almost running to his bathroom mirror. Jim looked at the vixen as she checked herself over and over for any wrinkles and grey showing. Seeing her like this, amused him to no end. He figured that, no matter where you went, all females are the same; they worry about their looks, just as much as they worry about everything else, if not more. And seeing a blue-furred vixen checking almost every strand of hair to see whether or not it's grey, only cemented that fact into his brain. He got up, and crept up behind the fussing vixen, and embraced her from behind. She stopped what she was doing, and snuggled against his head. Jim had his eyes closed. A mistake, since he failed to notice the water running, otherwise he would've seen the water coming right at his face. He took a few steps back, while wiping the water from his face, and looking at a slightly grinning Krystal, with her hands placed on her hips.

"I suppose I had that one coming for me." Jim said.

"Big time." Krystal replied. She came forward, and spun rapidly, slapping Jim with her tail in his face.

"And that, was for teasing me you jerk." she said, still smiling. Jim couldn't help but grin broadly himself. Just then, Krystal noticed the music coming from his headphones. She went over, and picked them up.

"I don't remember you having this song on your MP3." she said, after placing the headphones on her head.

"That's because I haven't recorded it on the MP3 yet. I still have several giga-bytes of songs left on one of my hard-drives." Jim replied, still smiling. The song was 'Don't Fear the Reaper', by BlueOyster Cult. Krystal was too busy listening to the song, to notice Jim creeping close to his laptop. Then, he brought up his browser, and the volume control. He could hear the music itself through the headphones, and when he heard the guitar solo start, he turned the volume up to full in half a second. The result, was the vixen giving a yelp of fright at the sudden decibel change, and throwing the headphones off of her head, and glaring at a laughing out loud Jim.

"That's not funny!" she shouted, throwing punches at him. Jim dodged, still laughing, until he bumped into his bed, making him fall onto his back. Krystal got on top of him, and continued to rain a furry of blue fists in his direction. He either dodged or blocked them. And, much to Krystal's chagrin, he was still laughing. She hated it when he got to her like this, while he reveled in it. He tried to get out from under her, but she shoved him back every time, and continued her assault. Soon, he stopped laughing, but still kept his grin. He caught her fists in her hands, and held her. She tried to break free, but he held her fast. Suddenly, she lunged forward, and kissed him. Caught off guard, he let go of her suddenly, and she pulled away as soon as he did, while she still sat atop of him, folding her arms in triumph.

"I don't know what you're smiling about."

"I'm still on top, aren't I?" she asked.

"Not for long, vixen." At that, Jim's arms shot for her sides, and he tickled her with a passion. Krystal squealed, and was overcome with fits of laughter. She fell off of the human, and onto the bed, while Jim now stood over her fists on his waist.

"Another opponent soundly defeated." Jim said, triumphantly.

"Oh, not quite." Krystal said, getting up to a sitting position. "I'm not like those monsters that you've fought before."

"No, you're much too small for that. You're tantrums, on the other hand, would make any monster pale in comparison." Jim said, still smiling triumphantly.

"Oh, you scoundrel!" Krystal retorted, leaping at the human. Jim side-stepped out of the way, and Krystal landed on her feet like a cat. Both opponents got into their combat stances, and circled eachother, a competitive grin on their faces. Just then, the alarm rang, and both looked up at the flashing red light on the ceiling. They looked at eachother briefly, and nodded. They ran out of the room, towards the control head.

At the control head, the rest of the team was assembled, while General Pepper's image was present on the view screen. As usual, the general was in his red dress uniform, and wore a tired expression.

"Star Fox, something has come up. We just picked up a large number of unidentified craft heading for the Lylat system. They seem to be coming from Sector Y, and since you're the closest there, I want you to investigate at once."

"Of course, General. We'll leave immediately." After the general signed off, everyone got to their stations, and the Great Fox warped to Sector Y. Part of the infamous triad of electro-magnetic death traps, it was so named because of the y-shaped nebula that was present, the source of the magnetic interference that often lead ships to their early doom. Great Fox was equipped to counter such effects, but they could only last so long. When they reached the infamous nebula, they weren't really surprised when they found nothing at first. Their scanners were being scrambled, but soon compensated for the interference.

"A little close, aren't we Fox?" Peppy asked.

"We have to be, Pep. This is where the sighting was. So far, all there is, is a bunch of debris." Fox commented. During the Lylat Wars, Andross was building a base of operations to stage an attack on Corneria. Star Fox put a stop to that, years ago. All that remained of the un-finished base, was broken ships, and construction material strewn all over. Jim took the scene in in his typical blank expression, waiting for something or other to pop up at a moment's notice. After several minutes of running scans across the debris, the Great Fox moved across the broken wreckage, some of the debris bumping and scraping across the hull. Even inside, the noises were heard. Slippy jumped slightly every time something bumped the ship. Soon, the scanners were beginning to foul up again.

"Hey, Slip! The scanners are getting all sorts of fuzzy again." Falco said.

"Can't help that. The interference is getting stronger as we get closer to the nebula." Slippy stated.

"We won't be able to use the scanners on the Great Fox. We'll hafta go out in arwings, and do it the old fashioned way." Peppy said. Just as the team was headed for the exit. There was a loud "Hold it!" Everyone turned, and Jim was staring out of the view port, his eyes searching. Krystal came up next to him.

"What is it?"

"I don't know. Something's out there…" Jim's eyes started to dart across the scene, trying to find the source of the disturbance he was feeling at the back of his head. For some reason, his 'warning sense' was going into over-drive right now, and it only did that in the presence of extreme danger.

"There!" He pointed to where he saw something move. The others saw it, but passed it off.

"Ahhh, that's nothing. You're getting worked up over some floating debris, pal." Falco said, slapping the human on the back. The human ignored it, knowing that something out there did move, and it wasn't just some floating piece of junk. 'And, it knows that we are here…' he thinks to himself.

Jim followed the others to the hangar, and jumped into his arwing. After doing the split-second systems check, the hangar door opened, revealing debris-filled space. The five arwings launched, and went in separate directions. Jim took the direction where he saw something move. After going over the same area three times, he started to scan the surrounding area. However, he trusted his Ultra-senses over the scanners, especially since his senses aren't dulled by the electro-magnetic interference given off by the nebula. 'Whatever it is, it has cleverly hidden itself. It doesn't wanna be found out, not just yet.'

'What are you looking for, Jim?' Krystal asked, telepathically. Her arwing came up alongside Jim's, and was flying beside him. Jim ignored her, and focused on reaching out for the presence.

'I asked you a question.' she stated, rather in an annoyed tone. Jim continued to ignore her, and focused on his surroundings.

'Are you listening to me?' she mentally shouted.

'Hey, I'm trying to concentrate! Rather than flap you brain like that, reach out with your own senses, and help me search!' Jim stated with irritation. Krystal swallowed her gall, and reached out with her feelings. She felt Jim's own efforts at searching, and felt that they were slightly more acute than hers.

'He's not using the scanner at all. He's using his own senses entirely.' she thinks in amazement. Although he had told her that Ultras were capable of telepathy greater than any Cerinian could hope to obtain, she had no idea that they were this adept. She was still using the scanner to help aide her search, while Jim relied on his own entirely. She slightly felt envious of him.

"There!" Jim shouted. He sped off towards the right, with Krystal in pursuit. Jim bobbed and weaved around the wreckage, with Krystal following closely.

'It's not getting away! I'll make sure it won't!' the Ultra/human thinks fiercely. After speeding for a few minutes, Jim slows down suddenly, hen stopped, hovering in space. Krystal stopped as well, floating next to him.

"What is it? What's wrong?" Krystal asked. Jim reached out again, trying to find the object. Behind them, something floated up, behind some debris, and turned around, heading in the opposite direction that the two fighters were facing. Jim felt his 'warning sense' hit turbo, and turned his head suddenly to see the thing try to make a break for it. He turned his arwing around, and pursued the flying object. He cut off its retreat, and when he saw the front of it, his mouth hung open as he looked on in disbelief at what it was that he was looking at. Krystal got up beside him, and looked at the thing as well, and was looking at the thing in awe, more than anything else. The thing, was alive. It was a living creature, at least as big as an arwing, and was shaped like a tad-pole, having a tail behind it, and a round body with red bulging eyes in front, like a frog.

'Wh-what is that thing?' Jim thinks to himself. He could feel its intentions, it was nothing more than a scout. He may not know what species it is, but he knew exactly what a scout was. He began to charge up his laser, the green glow turning to red.

'Jim, what are you doing?' Krystal mentally shouted at him.

'Nipping the problem in the bud!' Jim mentally shouted back. Just then, his 'warning sense' just kicked into high-gear again, and both arwings turned, and both pilots froze in shock at what they saw.

Fox and co. were still floating among the wreckage, still taking scans of the area. That's when the readings decided to spike. Then, alarms went off, as several objects started to swarm over their ships.

"Fox, what the heck are these things?" Slippy shouted.

"No idea! The scanners say life-forms, but what could survive in space like this?" Fox shouted back. The life-forms amassed in the thousands around them, all swarming for one single destination.

"Fox, let's see where our new friends are headed." Falco said.

"Right. I'll see if I can't raise Jim or Krystal." Fox tried to contact them, but the signal was being jammed. 'Most likely from the nebula,' Fox supposed. The three fighters made a b-line for the swarm's destination, and what they saw, made their blood run cold; the life-forms were converging on eachother, combining in some sort of osmosis to form a larger mass. The black tad pole-like things were heading for the mass, and when they touched it, they disappeared, forever more part of the larger creature. And, it was growing.

"Fox, look!" Falco shouted. He looked to where Falco pointed, and saw Jim and Krystal's arwings floating several hundred feet away. Fox raised them on his headset.

Inside his arwing, Jim was looking at the growing mass in awe and disgust. Then, he heard Fox's voice over his headset.

"Jim, Krystal, this is Fox! Do you read?"

"Jim, here, Fox! Are you seeing this?"

"We are, Jim. If you know anything about it, now would be a good time to tell us what we are up against."

"I got nothing, Fox. Whatever it is, it's a new one on me!" Jim shouted, not taking his eyes off of the growing shape-less thing. 'I may not know what you are, monster, but I can feel your intentions. You will not have the chance to carry them out.' Jim put his Spacium Brace over his heart, when a familiar voice stopped him.

"Well, well. It looks like Ultraman Zenith stumbled onto my pet-project." Jim froze when he heard the voice, as did everyone else. Only one person he knew spoke Japanese that fluently in that arrogant tone.

"Babalu!" Jim shouted. And sure enough, the gold and black invader floated out from behind the mass, and took in the sight of the five arwings. He looked at them, and cackled. Krystal was rooted to her seat.

'How? I was sure that I killed him,' the vixen thinks. As if reading her mind, the invader speaks.

"Surprised to see me, girl? You nearly got me last time. This time, however, you will not be so lucky. When I'm done with you, there will be nothing beautiful of you left, not after I peel the flesh from your bones."

"You sure talk a lot for a guy who got beat by a girl, Babalu! I'll beat you again, except this time, I'll make sure that you'll stay dead!" Krystal retorted in Japanese. Babalu chuckled at this, and replied with a sneer in his voice.

"My dear Krystal, you'll never get the chance. Not if my new friend here has anything to say about it." he said, gesturing to the growing black mass.

"Enough! What is that thing, Babalu?" Jim shouted at the invader.

"This 'thing', is one of the late Dr. Addleson's creations. It was engineered as an experiment to see if living organisms could survive in space. What he created, was a creature that is virtually impossible to kill. No matter how many times you slice and dice it, the pieces will always return to the larger mass."

"Dr. Addleson? But, I thought all of his creations were destroyed! How could you have gotten your hands on it?" Jim shouted. Just then, Babalu reached behind him, and pulled out the Battle Nizer that Claire had given him. Jim gasped in recognition, while the others stared at it, not knowing what it was.

"What's that thing?" Slippy asked. Although they were conversing in another language, their translators were able to decipher it.

"No idea. But Jim certainly recognizes it." Falco comments. Indeed, Jim could only gape, at the item that the invader displayed proudly.

'H-how? How did he get his filthy mitts on one of _those_?' Jim wonders.

"You recognize this? Babalu asked, a smile creeping in his voice.

"Where did you get that Battle Nizer, Babalu?" Jim yelled at the invader. Dealing with him was bad enough. However, if he has a Battle Nizer, then there's no telling what kind of damage he's able to do.

"Wouldn't you like to know." Babalu replied with smugness. The rest of the team deciphered the language, but were lost in the dark.

"Jim, this is Fox."

"Go ahead."

"Could you fill us in on this 'Battle Nizer' thing, that you two are talking about?"

"It's a device that captures and controls monsters. It's capable of holding up to three kaiju at a time, and are completely under the captors' control. I had heard from sources on M78 that only a handful were ever made in my reality's existence."

"So how'd he get his hands on one, then?"

"That's what I'd like to know."

"So, it basically captures and controls monsters, and bends them to their captors' will?" Slippy asked.

"Basically. Either that, or they become your closest ally. It depends on the captor."

"And with that Babalu, being captured means slavery." Krystal said to herself, although the others heard her just fine.

"Either way, we can't just let this guy roam free with something like that. That thing is getting bigger by the second."

"Here's the plan. Jim, you convert and see what you can do about that thing."

"What about you guys?"

"We'll try to separate Babalu from his 'Nizer. Once he's separated from that, he should lose control of that monster, right?"

"I'd guess. This kind of thing hasn't been done before, so I couldn't tell you." Jim shrugged.

"Alright. Jim, take that thing on, we gat Babalu." Fox ordered.

"Oh? You really think that those four paper-airplanes are a match for me?" Babalu asked in Japanese. Although he was speaking in another language, the onboard translators on the arwings changed the words to Cornerian/English.

"These 'paper airplanes' can do a whole lot of damage, Babalu." Fox growled.

"Especially since you got beat by a girl, _twice_, and in hand to hand!" Falco added. Krystal smiled slightly at this.

"Do not underestimate him, people. Babalu may have been beaten before, but trust me, he's dangerous!" Jim warned.

"Yeah, yeah, we know. Now, why don't you go play with something more your size?" Falco replied. Jim could only shake his head in disbelief. Other than Krystal, these guys really have no idea who they are dealing with. Not only that, but since Addleson is gone, Babalu will be holding nothing back, now. 'They're in for one helluva fight,' Jim thought, as he converted to his Ultra form. The glowing red sphere exited the arwing, and swelled to fourty meters, taking on the form of Ultraman Zenith. In his normal mode, Zenith faced the monster, and it too morphed into something. No longer absorbing any more mini-selves, it has grown to be almost twice as big as Zenith himself. Soon, it took on a slightly humanoid shape, complete with four massive limbs, a tail, and no face, save for two red glowing eyes, with slit-like pupils. Jim got into his combat stance, and engaged the monster.

Meanwhile, Jim's worries were not misplaced, as the team took on Babalu. In his human size, he was proving to be a difficult target to hit. Dodging and weaving past the arwings' assault, he let loose with volleys of his own. The purple blasts whizzed past the arwings, except for one; Slippy, per usual, was the first one who got hit. He took two direct hits to his fuselage, and right wing, blowing the wing clean off.

Guys, I've been hit!" Slippy wailed. Then, Babalu appeared right next to him, his mask-like visage peering into his cockpit to his right. Slippy gave a yelp of fright, as Babalu laughed, and slammed a fist against his canopy, cracking it. Babalu made a farewell gesture with his hand, and moved off. The cracks on his canopy started to grow, and so did the panic inside the amphibian.

"Slippy, are you okay?" Fox asked, concerned.

"No! that guy cracked my canopy. It's gonna break in a few minutes, and the Great Fox is too far away for me to get there by myself!" Slippy wailed.

"Krystal, help him back to the ship. Falco and I will handle this guy."

"Okay, but save some for me. I've been dying for a rematch." Krystal said. She placed her arwing underneath Slippy's and both throttled to the Great Fox. Falco and Fox then turned their attention to Babalu. He chuckled, and motioned them to come after him. They did so, and he got into his combat stance. Both fighters let loose their nova bombs, and when they connected, the explosions blinded them momentarily. When the glare subsided, Babalu was gone.

"WHOOO! Ain't so tough without your monster, are ya?" Falco said, triumphantly. Fox, on the other hand, wasn't as flamboyant. He still kept his eyes peeled for the invader, turning his head this way and that. Just then, alarms went off in his cockpit, warning him of both engine, and shield failure. After trying several reroutes and startups, he looked over at his G-Diffuser, and saw Babalu slicing the right nodule with his forearm blade. The invader looked at the vulpine, and if he could, he'd be grinning evilly at the helpless pilot. He jumped, and floated directly in front of the prone fighter.

"Falco, I could use some help here!" Fox shouted.

"I see him, buddy, but there's nothing I can do! I can't fire, without risk hitting you!" Falco replied. Babalu was now inches from the canopy. He brandished his forearm blade, and tapped the reinforced glass with it, chuckling. Fox snarled, and when the invader raised his right arm, he awaited for the inevitable. Just then, an emerald burst came from nowhere, and soundly struck the invader, knocking him away. Fox looked back, and saw Krystal's arwing coming up. He let out a loud sigh of relief.

"I told you to save some for me." Krystal said through her headset, grinning.

"What took you so long, Krys?" Fox asked, also smiling. Babalu turned to face the other arwing, and growled in rage. Krystal turned her head to face Babalu, and her expression hardened. Then, she whirled, and pursued the invader. He dodged the fighter, while letting loose his volley of purple blasts. Krystal did a barrel roll, and the action deflected the volley. Babalu was caught off guard, and was almost hit by Krystal's arwing. However, he angled out of her way, and even managed to grab her wing. He was pulling himself closer to her G-Diffuser, when Krystal did another barrel roll, throwing him off of her.

"Not this time, Babalu." Krystal said, silent rage in her voice. She turned around, and let loose a nova bomb at the spinning invader. The bomb struck home, and detonated against the invader. When the explosion subsided, the invader was floating in space, prone.

"Alright, nice shot, Krys." Falco cheered.

"I'd say that Babalu has met his match. Who'd a thought that he'd be beat by you, not twice, but three times?" Fox asked, smiling broadly.

"You might say that, I'm the 'Fox McCloud', to his 'Andross'." Krystal said, also grinning. The three of them laughed at this, while Babalu came to, and was now filled with more hatred than ever. He whirled at the three ships, and was trembling with rage.

"THIS IS NOT OVER, VERMIN!" Babalu Roared. The three pilots looked at Babalu, and stared.

"I've been holding back, this entire time! Ever since our first encounter, Krystal, I've been holding back! Well, NO MORE!" Just then, his body glowed a deep violet, and he swelled. His form grew to that of fourty meters, and when the glow subsided, he looked down at the three arwings. The pilots' mouths hung open, while the giant Babalu glowered at them. Fox was done doing the necessary adjustments, and had his fighter running again, although not at full efficiency, since one of his G-Diffusers took some horrible damage. However, he joined his three friends, and faced off against the giant invader. Then, Babalu raised his left arm, and swung it at the three fighters, firing his forearm blaster. The three craft nimbly avoided the attack.

"Hey, Krystal. Now you know how I felt when I went up against Andross for the first time." Fox said, over his headset. Krystal chuckled at this, his attempt at humor notwithstanding. She hoped, that Jim was faring better than they were.

Jim was having trouble, and that was an understatement. No matter what he tried, he could not hurt that thing. He could tell right from the get-go that physical attacks would be useless against it, if what Babalu said held any weight. Every time he swung, chopped, or kicked at the soft, gooey body, the impacts would just be absorbed. He backed off, and tried his slash beam, which had more progress. The beam cut through the midsection of the monster, and it held its side, as if in pain. Then, the pieces floating from the wound, amazingly, started to come together, and repair the damage. Zenith tried his shredding halos against the thing, but slicing its arms off did nothing, and the limbs only returned to the main body. 'This is not good. No matter what I try, I can't seem to damage it.' He looked behind the monster, and saw a fourty meter tall Babalu shooting at three arwings, and felt his heart sink. Then, his face was met with a gooey fist, and was sent floating away from his opponent. He stopped himself, and faced the monster once more, but couldn't figure out how to beat the thing. Then, an idea just came to him. Using the same technique he used on Keronia a couple of months ago, he used his Ultra Attack Beam on the monster. The thing was frozen in space, and when Zenith placed his arms in an 'x' shape over his warning light, the creature blew apart into tiny pieces. Knowing full well of its re-integration abilities, Zenith used his Spacium Kousen to incinerate all of the free-floating pieces, until they were nothing more than ashes. Satisfied, Zenith turned, and flew at the fight between Babalu, and Star Fox.

Babalu was firing at the fighters, knowing that sooner or later, he would hit them. The fighters nimbly dodged his purple shots, but the pilots knew that wouldn't last. Fox and Falco went for his eyes, firing charged shots at him. The assault struck home, and Babalu gave a yell of pain, and he held his face in his hands. Krystal swung around, and noticed something like a scar on his chest. She was reminded of her last bout with him, and fired a nova bomb on the scarred armor. The result was the wound being almost completely reopened, and Babalu holding his chest in pain. He growled at the fighters, and fired at them once more. Then, he got lucky; he noticed Fox's arwing was closer than the pilot would've liked, and shot at it, in rapid succession. Two shots missed, but the other two blew his wings clean off. Then, he grabbed the arwing, and looked at it, and the pilot inside. Fox could see alarms going off in his canopy, and tried everything to get free, but to no avail. Then, Babalu chucked him into Falco's arwing, and the two ships went careening across space. Then, he faced Krystal's arwing, and would've sneered if he was able to. He fired his forearm blaster at Krystal, who nimbly dodged the attack, and lined up for an assault of her own. Krystal let rained down emerald fury on Babalu, who brought up his forearms to block. After the assault was over, Babalu fired his forearm blaster at Krystal, who executed a barrel roll, and deflected the blasts away from her. Then, Babalu reached out, suddenly, and grabbed her arwing! Babalu brought the fighter close to his face, and Krystal could see the pupils dilate in his eyes. Krystal snarled, and tried to break free.

"Ha ha ha ha ha! Finally, I get to dispose of you. Not the way that I would like, but at least you'll be out of my misery!" Babalu shouted. Then, he began to crush the fighter in his grip. He didn't use a lot of pressure at first, since he wanted to savor the moment, but gradually, he increased it only slightly. Inside, Krystal was still trying to break free of his grip. Alarms went off in her cockpit, and knew that her efforts were in vain. Her last thought was one name

'Jim…'

Suddenly, A shredding halo sliced across the cosmos, and cut through Babalu's armor, cutting him underneath. He let out a pained howl, and released Krystal, who flew away from the invader. Babalu looked up, in time to see a silver fist plant itself into his face, sending him into a large chunk of rubble. Babalu looked up, and saw Zenith staring him down.

"What? How? You're supposed to be dealing with that monster I sent after you!" Babalu shouted.

"Hmph. As if I couldn't figure out a way to defeat an opponent who could re-integrate itself. After separating its body into tiny pieces, I destroyed the fragments. If you had been paying attention, and not been distracting yourself with Star Fox, you would've seen me." Zenith stated plainly. Babalu growled in anger. Now, he had to deal with _both_ Zenith and Krystal. No matter. He was holding back the whole time that they engaged eachother. No more. This time, it's all or nothing.

"I am going to enjoy ripping you all apart with my bare hands. You think that you are a match for me? This is no kid's show, or Saturday morning cartoon! This is real! And, I'm going to prove that to you, in the hardest way possible!" Just then, Babalu reached behind him, and pulled out his staff weapon. He twirled it expertly, and faced Zenith.

"I am the ruler of an entire galaxy. My name is known and feared. You will be a nice little addition to my trophy room. And I mean _both_ of you!" he said, gesturing to the arwing that was floating behind Zenith. The Ultra looked back, and regarded Krystal for a moment, and turned back to face Babalu.

"You think for a moment, that that stick of yours will do you any good? Don't make me laugh!" Jim converted to his powered form, and got into his combat stance. Babalu regarded this form for a second, and scoffed. He rushed at him, and swung down with the mace end. Zenith brought up his right arm suddenly, and blocked the blow. Babalu doubled back, and thrusted with the mace end again. This one connected, but it felt like he hit a brick wall, and was forced back. He lunged with the two-prong end. Zenith blocked this with his hand, catching it in between the prongs, and grabbed the staff just behind the head of the twin prongs. Babalu tried to pull free, but was having difficulty. Then, when Zenith did release him, Babalu went spinning away from him. He stopped himself, and saw Zenith lunged at him, and brought down a karate chop, right on the middle of the staff. The weapon snapped in half, and Babalu glanced at the two sides before tossing them aside.

"Give this up, invader. You are outmatched here today. Surrender, and I will be merciful." Jim stated, pointing at the black and gold alien.

"Be merciful to _this_!" Babalu shouted, as he unleashed volley after volley at Zenith. Zenith brought up his guard to block the assault, but even he, in his powered form, could only take so much. Soon, his warning light was going off, flashing at a steady pace. Babalu cackled like a madman, and continued the assault. Just then, A nova bomb detonated right in Babalu's face, and he caught a face-full of the plasma-based weapon. He howled his pain, and Zenith lowered his guard enough to see Krystal's arwing flying by. She looked at him, and smiled. Zenith nodded at her, grateful for the help. He turned his attention back to Babalu. The invader was still howling in pain, and writhing in agony. Zenith rushed him, and slammed him into a piece of floating wreckage. He pinned him against the debris, and placed his fore arm at his throat. Babalu struggled vainly to escape, while Zenith held him fast. Then, Babalu brought up his left arm, slightly, and shot Zenith beneath the face with a purple blast. It knocked the Warrior of Light away, and Babalu grabbed the floating lower half of his staff, the one with the prong end. When Zenith turned, he stabbed Zenith in the abdomen with the weapon. Krystal saw this, and almost screamed when she did. She gasped, but her voice was gone. Zenith doubled over, clutching the weapon that was now in his body. He held onto the hilt, while Babalu cackled away.

"You see now, boy? You cannot beat me! I am your better! Now, go face oblivion. Oh, and if it's any consolation, those furry freaks that you call friends will be joining you soon. Well, all but one. I'll be having some fun with her, settling an old score." Babalu said, a sneer in his voice. Then, Zenith grabbed Babalu by the throat, and the invader found it really hard to breath. Zenith looked up, and what Babalu saw made his spine ice over; Zenith's cerulean blue eyes, were now a bright red crimson. Krystal, in her arwing, could feel the rage coming off of Zenith/Jim in droves. She couldn't help but shudder in fear herself. Then, Zenith pulled the prong out of his body, and slammed Babalu against the rubble once more, and held Babalu there. He held the prong over his head, about to send it right through Babalu's black heart.

"Wait! Please, wait! Don't kill me! Just, put me in prison!" Babalu pleaded. Zenith was disgusted with this act of cowardice from him, and shoved the prong deep into the invader's chest, making the invader bleed profusely. In his dying moments, Babalu heard Zenith whisper into his ear.

"Men, go to prison. Monsters, get put down." After that, he left the limp form of Babalu, pinned to the rubble that would serve as his grave. He turned to face Krystal, who gasped at what she saw; the wound on his abdomen was glowing a bright yellow, and in place of blood, light itself seemed to come from the wound, wafting fom it like a vapor. He nodded at the arwing, and headed for the Great Fox. Fox and Falco, who had been watching the fight, flew next to Krystal.

"Hey Krys, is Jim alright?" Falco asked, genuine concern showing in his voice. In response, Krystal gunned towards the bleeding warrior, with the two arwings following close behind. Zenith reduced his size to that of a human's, but didn't revert. When he landed on the docking floor, he collapsed to his knees, and finally did he revert to his human form. Jim was on his knees, clutching his bleeding stomach that felt like every nerve ending was in hellish agony every time he breathed. He tried to stand, but the pain was intense. Then, he saw the arwings dock, and Krystal ran over to Jim. She knelt next to him, and tried to help him up. Then, he coughed up blood on the floor and himself, making Krystal gasp in fear again, as she saw the blood from the wound pour over his hand. The last thing he saw, was Krystal's tear-stained face before succumbing to the darkness.


	23. A Mortal Deity

Chapter 23

A Mortal Deity

He doesn't know where he is, but he does have a rough idea how he got there, and now, he knows that he is going to die there. As the hands shot out of the wood-line, Aaron felt himself falling back, the scream frozen in his throat. the black hands closed in on his face, threatening to blind him to eternal darkness. Then, he reacted on instinct; he rolled onto his back, and pushed with his arms, the action ending with him doing a reverse-somersault, and standing to face the unknown aggressor. He looked at it, and could only stare at a laughing Rena, who was rolling over with laughter.

"You should've seen your face! It was priceless!" Dia, who had been watching the whole thing, stormed to her sister, and glared at her.

"That wasn't funny, Rena! You know that we are not allowed into the forest, for any reason!" she scolded at her older sister. Rena stood up, towering over her sister, who stood up to her chest. Rena looked down at Dia, who still kept the laughing visage.

"Can't you take a joke, Dia? It's not like anything bad will leap out of the forest and devour you whole." Rena said.

"How do you know, Rena? Have you been into the forest after dark?" Dia asked, her arms folded across her chest.

"Well, no, but..." Dia stormed away from her, and tugged Aaron by the sleeve of his jacket with her. Aaron followed her to the domicile. Rena looked at them, thinking 'Damn! I was so close!'

Inside the home, Aaron noticed that it was better lit than before. He looked around in the mid-day light. He saw Dia's mother sitting in a chair, knitting something, while her father, Randorn, was busy at the study just to the left of her, looking over something. Dia's mother looked at them, and smiled slightly.

"Well, did Dia show you around the village alright?" she asked. Aaron nodded.

"Your civilization is amazing. It reminds me of Earth's, before we advanced in technology."

"We are not so bad off, either." Randorn called from the study. He got up, and walked over to the pair.

"One of these days, I'll have to take you to one of the larger cities. This is merely my home village, and it hasn't changed in several hundred generations."

"Really? How advanced are you people?" Aaron asked, genuinely curious.

"You'll see, soon enough. Where's Rena, by the way?" he asked, looking around. Just then, Rena entered through the doorway, and saw the elder vulpine looking at her.

"Rena, what did I say about going into the forest?" Randorn asked, sternly.

"To not to." she said sheepishly. "It was only a joke, though."

"Joke or no, you know that it is forbidden. There are creatures out there that have been know to hunt and kill our kind for food. If I had lost my eldest, and the next in line to ascend me, how do you think your family would feel?" Rena looked away, and ran upstairs. Randorn let loose a heavy sigh, and shook his head sadly.

"How did you know about that?" Aaron asked.

"I read your thoughts. All of Cerinia, if not most, have this ability to read thoughts and emotions in others."

"You mean telepathy." Aaron stated. Randorn nodded.

"That is what it is called on your world, I presume." Aaron nodded.

"But, I thought it was all just make-believe. I didn't know anyone could actually be able to read minds. Does that mean that you can control minds as well?" Randorn laughed heartily at this.

"No, we don't control minds. We can read them, but can't control them. Even if it was possible for us to do so, it would be against our beliefs to enforce our will upon others. We believe in the freedom of all things, great and small."

Aaron looked to Dia, who smiled. Randorn looked to her, and smiled in return as well. Then, she tugged at his jacket sleeve once more, and practically hauled him upstairs to her room. Randorn watched all of this, an amused smile on his face, that was instantly replaced by worry.

"I know what it is that you are feeling, husband. And, I have felt it too. It would seem that, Xetulu's prediction will come true after all."

"I know. I just wished that, it wouldn't be in our lifetime. We still have so much to do." Randorn sat heavily down on the chair, feeling hopelessness and weariness all at once. His wife went next to him, and placed a gentle hand on his bare shoulder.

"Neera, my love, I fear that our end is coming far too soon." Randorn said, with a sad smile, caressing his wife's hand. He looked up her, and she looked at him, and both kissed eachother passionately, for what seemed to be the final time.

In Dia's room, Aaron saw the young vixen sift through her toy box in search of something. When he heard her grunt in satisfaction, he saw her walking towards him with her hands cupped over something. Dia opened her hands, and Aaron saw that it was one of the crystals that he saw in the hollow a few hours ago. She held it up to him.

"This one told me to bring it home with me." she said, grinning broadly. Aaron took it from here, and gazed at it. It glowed softly when he touched it. Then, Dia put her hands around Aaron's, and the glow intensified. Dia looked up, and saw Aaron's surprised expression. "I think that, it means for us to be together. I think, that we were meant to meet this way. That's what they told me. The crystals told me that, I would meet a boy, and that he and I were going to do something really important together." Aaron saw the expression in her eyes, and felt himself blush. He turned away in embarrassment, And felt a soft, fur-covered hand touch his face, and gently lift it up to meet Dia's gaze.

"They also said that, I would fall in love with him." At that moment, Aaron pulled away in surprise, nearly dropping the crystal. Dia was able to catch it, and held onto it. Aaron continued to stare at the young vixen, while she looked at him with doe eyes. She crept closer to him, while he backed up against the wall. He shut his eyes, and awaited for what was to come. He felt a soft wetness touch his right cheek, and saw Dia giving him a peck. She pulled away, and saw the human turn a deep shade of red from this. She giggled, and nuzzled him. Aaron wondered if he would become red permanently. When she pulled away, Aaron felt himself collapse in a heap. Dia embraced Aaron, and cuddled him.

"I'll never let you go. You'll always be my friend." she said, gently. Aaron returned the gesture, holding Dia as well. She pulled away, and let Aaron up. Aaron stood up, and strode to where his bag laid. He knelt down, and unzipped the main pocket. Dia was standing over him, curious at what it was that hew was doing. He pulled out his walk-man, and opened it. He saw that the disc was still in, the same CD that his sensei had given him for his birthday. He closed it, and switched it on. The batteries were still full, and he had an extra pack as well. He took one of the earbuds, and placed them in his left ear. He started the music, and he heard the opening to Ultraman Dyna in his ear. Dia heard the tune as well, and saw the earbud offered to her. She took it, and placed it in her right ear. Aaron saw the earbud in her fox-like ear, the wire going down the side of her head. He laughed at the sight. All the while, the Ultraman Dyna intro played. Rather than the mere minute and a half version, it was the full four minute-something theme. Aaron lip-synched the lyrics, while Dia listened. Aaron imagined the Dyna series going through his mind. After several minutes of listening to the soundtrack, Aaron pulled the earbud out of his ear, since it was starting to hurt a little. He noticed Dia still listening to the music, her eyes closed and head slightly bobbing to the tune. When it ended, and a new tune began, Dia opened her eyes, and saw Aaron staring out of the window, over looking the forest. He couldn't quite place it, but he felt that something was watching him from there. She strode over to him, and looked out as well.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I don't know." he replied. "Something's…out there." Dia looked back out, trying to find the thing that held her friend's attention. Trying, and ultimately failing. She turned back to the walkman, and placed the earbud back into her ear. Aaron looked back, and smiled, and went and sat next to her.

"What kind of music is this?" she asked.

"It's off of a show called Ultraman Dyna. I used to watch it all the time as a kid in Japan." he said, not really knowing that Dia didn't know what it was that he was talking about.

"Uhm, what's a 'show'?" she asked, tilting her head. Aaron realized that something like television is something alien o her. 'How am I going to explain this to her?' he wonders.

"Just imagine it, and I'll see it." Dia said. Her reply to his thought catching him off-guard. He suddenly remembered that she can read minds, and decided to try to imagine the Dyna series. He often found imagining something easier with music. So, he placed the earbuds into his ears, and reversed all the way to the beginning, with the intro of the series playing. Like before, he imagined the Dyna series, only this time, Dia was able to see it as well. She took in the information, and Aaron saw her eyes grow wide with wonder; a giant red and blue and silver, looking not quite unlike like what Mr. Yamato transformed into, was shown throughout his mind. In the imaginings, he was fighting several monsters, sometimes one at a time, or two at a time. And, he could switch different forms. Aaron imagined him switching from his standard red and blue and silver 'Flash' mode, to his red 'Strong' mode, and able to do impressive physical feats. Then, he switched to his blue 'Miracle' mode, and was faster, and able to do more mental and energy based abilities. Dia drank it in, absorbing all she could. Even the song's lyrics itself was shown; " Whoah, Whoah Dyna! Seigi nanda Dyna? Hontou ni ai wa nanda? Uruturaman Dyna? (Oh)." and the rest was played, and she soaked it all up, as much as she could. Aaron lip synched the words, as best as he could, and Dia joined him. When the song ended, so did the imagining. Aaron looked at Dia as he removed the earbuds, and saw Dia looking lost in space. Aaron waved a hand in front of her face, and she snapped out of it.

"Are you okay?" he asked. Dia nodded, grinning.

"I've never seen anything like that before! Do giants like that really exist on your world?" she asked, all excited.

"At first, I didn't think so. I thought that they were just make-believe." he said, lying down on his back, hands behind his head as he stared up at the ceiling. "Then, I find myself on an alien world, and that my sensei, who's been teaching me karate for over a year, turns out to be Ultraman 80."

"'80'? Is that how he is known on your world?" Dia asked. Aaron merely nodded. Then, it occurred to him; he never really asked what the name of the planet was that he was on.

"Cerinia." Dia answered.

"What?" Aaron asked, surprised.

"The name of the world that you are on, is called Cerinia." Aaron looked at her, and nodded. He sat up, and looked back at his bag, his thoughts going back to his family and friends back on Earth. He wondered, if he'll ever see them again. Sure, he'll be on wild adventures in space, exploring alien worlds and meeting new races as an Ultra, but didn't an Ultra ever feel homesick, he wondered. He let those thoughts creep into his mind, and he felt tears threatening his vision. He saw some of them fall down off of his face. Dia felt his sadness, and embraced him. Aaron looked down at the blue-furred form, and returned the embrace, quietly sobbing into her fur.

"Please, don't be sad. I don't want you to be sad." she pleaded.

"I can't help it." he cried gently. "I'm in a strange, new place, and I'm all alone. My friends and family are back on Earth, and my teacher, left me here alone." The tears could not be stopped when he said this. Even though he had suppressed as much of the loneliness as he possibly could, he couldn't stop it now. He felt so helpless and small in this place, so weak and vulnerable, that it threatened to erase him from existence. Just then, Dia tightened her grip on Aaron, threatening to suffocate him. Then, Aaron felt the emotions given off of her; kindness, caring, compassion, even, dared he imply,

"Love?" he asked out loud. Dia looked up, and Aaron noticed that tears were forming up in her eyes as well. She smiled broadly at him, and Aaron returned the hug as well.

"As long as you are with me, you are never alone. We're friends, you and I, and friends are never alone when they have eachother." she said, resting her head on his shoulder, and snuggling the side of his head. Aaron held her tightly, and let all of emotions pour forth. Dia felt them, felt his loneliness and isolation, replaced with friendship. Downstairs, Randorn and Neera were feeling what it was that the children were feeling, and smiled to themselves.

"It would seem that Xetulu's prophecies are coming true one after another." Randorn said.

"Yes. Not only did Dia find a new friend, but, perhaps, a potential mate as well." Neera said.

"But, they are so different from eachother." Randorn replied.

"Are they though? On the surface, yes, but you know as well as I do, husband, that love has been known to be found in places that we least expect. And often, those are truly the times when love shines its brightest." Neera answered her husband.

"Once again, it would appear that you are right, my love. However, I don't think that love will be able to see them through this crisis." Randorn said, his chest feeling heavy with a burden that only a leader can bear.

"Love is the only thing that can see them through. Even though we might be gone, as painful as it is for them, they will always have eachother. And that, is what will endure."

"I suppose, that I should have everything prepared, then. If it will happen soon, then we might as well be ready for it when it comes." Neera looked at Randorn, and nodded. Then, they both looked up, and noticed that both children have fallen asleep in each other's embrace.

"My daughter, how this will pain me to do this." Randorn said, as he went to his desk in the study, and pulled out a foot long object, that was mostly golden, with a pointed end on one side, and a rounded end on the other.

"Zenith, soon, it will be up to you." At that moment, Aaron's eyes shot opened, and Jim shot up in the bed with a start. He looked around his surroundings, and saw that he was in the infirmary. Then, he laid back down, and remembered bits about his dream.

"Or, was it a dream?" he asked aloud. He could even remember the names of the people in it; Neera, Randorn, Rena,

"Dia…" he said out loud. Then, he shot up once more, and almost shouted "Cerinia! My God, I was on…Cerinia?" He remembered the name of the planet, like it was freshly tattooed into his brain. 'But, how can that be? Cerinia was destroyed. Or, was this before the destruction took place?' he wondered. He held his head in frustration, a lot was happening so fast, and he was starting to figure out those weird dreams that he's been having. He thought about telling Krystal, but decided against it.

'If I tell her, then what? What will happen to us? Will she ask more questions that I simply don't have the answers to? Will she see me as part of the reason why her world was wiped out?' all of this was flashing through his mind at the speed of light, and he decided to keep this to himself. He looked down at himself, and saw that his torso was bandaged. He then remembered, his fight with Babalu, and how he nearly died when the alien stabbed him with his prongs. He felt along the bandages, but felt no pain. He undid them, and found no wound at all. The injury he suffered from the invader, was completely healed, not even a scar remained. Either Corneria's medical technology was more advanced than he thought, or this is another perk of being an Ultra. He got up, and put his uniform back on. Only this time, it was a fresh one, and not the blood-stained mess that was damaged. He decided to key the ship's computer.

"Where is everyone at now?" he asked.

"Fox McCloud is in his quarters. Peppy Hare and Slippy Toad are in the laboratory. Falco Lombardi is in the simulators. Krystal was last seen headed to the medical bay. James Howards is in the medical bay."

"Thanks." he replied.

"You are welcome." the computer replied in a female voice. He decided to head for the labs, rather than wait for Krystal, since his dream/memory would more than likely disturb her. However, when he was about to open the door, it opened, and revealed a surprised blue-furred vixen on the other side.

"Jim, are you alright?" she asked, embracing him.

"Uhh, yeah, I'm fine. Did you forget that I'm invincible?" he asked, laughing. Krystal laughed at this as well. She pulled away, and looked into the steel grey eyes of the young man. She nuzzled him gently, a sign of affection, and continued to embrace him.

"What happened? I don't remember after I blacked out." Krystal pulled away, and recounted what all had happened.

Several hours ago: Jim had passed out on her, and he was losing blood fast. She looked up, and saw Fox take an arm under him and she did the same. They both dragged him to the infirmary, and laid him down on a bed. Fox removed the top half of Jim's blood-stained and torn uniform, and it revealed an ugly, torn gash in Jim's abdomen. There were two large openings, but they looked like they were one big tear in his stomach. The tears went deep, and Fox could see the torn muscle inside, almost the internal organs. He won't last for too much longer. The first thing they did, was pressurized the wound, to prevent more blood loss. Then, the wound patched up as best they could. Despite having advanced medical facilities here, they did not have the means for treating a wound like this. All they could hope to do was clean and bandaged it, which they knew would not be enough.

"Will he last the trip back to Corneria?" Krystal asked. Fox looked at her briefly, then looked away, unsure on how to answer that, as Krystal felt more tears well up, and placed a hand on Jim's forehead. Peppy, meanwhile, was in another part of the medical bay, getting something from a drawer. When he came back, he had a small, hand-held item in his hand, going over Jim's body, like a medical scanner off of 'Star Trek.' He took the necessary readings, and fed them into the computer. What was shown, surprised all the people in the room. Falco and Slippy were standing out of the way of the three, and when they moved closer, they saw, on a screen on the wall behind Jim, cells reproducing at an alarming rate.

"What is this?" Falco asked. Peppy looked at the avian.

"That, is Jim's body healing itself." he said.

"But, that's impossible. No one can heal that fast. His cells are reproducing and repairing themselves at more than several times the normal rate." Fox said. Peppy took out his scanner again, and ran another scan over Jim's wound, and held it there. The screen changed to that of the muscles being mended, the damaged internal organs being repaired, and all of it was happening in moments. Jim's breathing even got noticeably easier, and the bleeding had almost all but stopped. The team looked at their newest member with a mix of disbelief, and fascination. If Jim was able to survive from a wound like this, then what were the limits of his recuperating abilities? This was on their minds.

"I think we should let him get some rest. He has, after all, been through a hell of an ordeal." Peppy said, ushering the team out.

Over the course of a few hours, Krystal had been making regular checks on the Ultra/human, this being the latest one, when Jim decided to wake up from his coma. Jim was hardly surprised by this at all, though he supposed that he should be. After all, this was his second brush with death, but the first one that he actually came close to dying.

"Were you able to get the Battle Nizer that Babalu had?" Jim asked, changing the subject. Krystal's ears perked up, and answered.

"Yes, we were able to retrieve it. It's being examined by Peppy and Slippy right now."

"I'd like to see it."

"Are you sure that you are able to? Advanced healing or no, you should not be able to…"

"I'm fine, Krystal. I am an Ultra, after all." Jim replied with a smile. He got up, and went out the door, with Krystal following behind, thinking 'Does that mean that you'll live forever, then?' with worried thoughts. They reached the labs with no difficulty. Inside, was Slippy's personal workshop, where he cobbled pieces of junk together to make new items for the team to use. He and Peppy were standing over an examination table, with an overhead light shining down on them, and the Battle Nizer. The foot-long object was being poked and prodded by Slippy, who was holding what looked like a scanner over it, and a type of miniature prod in another, while wearing the magnifying lenses on top of his head, the ones made for intense magnification over his eyes. Meanwhile, Peppy took scans of his own, and fed the data into the computer.

"Looks like this thing is made out of an alloy not known to us. I don't think that we'll be able to get a better look at it, other than to take it apart, bit by bit." Peppy said, reading the data that came out.

"I wouldn't do that, if I were you." Jim said from behind. Both of them whirled.

"JIM! You're alive!" Slippy yelled, as the amphibian ran up, and embraced the young man. Jim returned it, and patted the amphibian's head. He looked at Peppy, who had a knowing smile on.

"So, welcome back to the land of the living." the old hare said.

"Thanks, Pep. What have you found out, so far?" Jim asked.

"Practically nothing. We can't scan the thing, since it's made with metal not known to us, and it's welded tighter than Slippy's virginity!" Peppy almost shouted. Krystal and Jim suppressed a laugh at the statement, while the amphibian turned from green to red.

"We were hoping that you could tell us something about it." Slippy replied, getting over his embarrassment.

"Not much else to add, other than what I've told you. Like I said, it captures other entities, mainly the kaiju that live in my reality, and stores them as data inside of these cards. The cards are then scanned by the device when the captor so chooses, and the monster is released, except loyal to the captor."

"But how does that process work? How does a living thing get stored as data inside of a card?" Krystal asked. Jim only shrugged.

"I wasn't told that much by my superiors. I'll have to ask them to send all available data to me, so we can better address the situation."

"You go do that. Meanwhile, we'll do what we can here." Peppy said. He added, just before they left; "And while you're at it, see if they can't send any data on the native kaiju and what-not. That will undoubtedly prove invaluable."

"I'll see what I can do." Jim replied. As he was making his way to his room, he was stopped by Krystal's presence.

"What is it?" she asked.

"I'd prefer if I did this alone. It is, after all, a top secret meeting between myself and my superiors on M78, and I can't risk someone listening in, no matter who it might be." Jim said, with a smile. Krystal said that she understood, and that if he needed anything, that she'll be in her room, meditating. When Jim entered his room, he dimmed the lights, and rolled up his sleeve to expose his Spacium Brace. He focused, and transformed into his Ultra form. Then, with his arm still outstretched, he sent a telepathic signal to M78. He didn't have to wait long, as a shimmering, man-sized entity of light appeared in his room. Jim knew who this was instantly.

"Commander Zoffy, there has been an…incident."

"We know. The invader and Dark Ultra had gotten their hands on Battle Nizers. We have viewed this on the gamma-screen, and must say, that your work so far has been satisfactory." Zoffy replied in a stern tone.

"I know that you want data pertaining to the Battle Nizer. Tell your friends, that the information shall be sent accordingly. This is a most disturbing turn of events. If they have Nizers, then whose to say that others don't as well?" Zoffy mused.

"I will tell my friends, sir." As he turned to leave, Zenith reverted back to his human form, and was stopped by Zoffy.

"Do they know your true mission?" he asked. Jim froze in his tracks. He couldn't know what to say. How could he. He answered, almost silently "No, they don't."

"Good. Preparations are now nearing completion."

"Can't you hold them off! We can't do this to them! If we do this, then all we're doing is.."

"What we are doing, is setting things right once more. You knew about your assignment when you first entered the light outpost, months ago. You were given this mission, on the belief that you could gain these creatures' trust."

"They're not creatures, they're people!" Jim shouted. He had tears coming down.

"This is not open to argument. You will obey orders, and carry them out exactly as planned. And then, everything will be set right." Zoffy said.

"You know that you don't believe that. You know that what we are planning to do is wrong. Why can't you see that?" Jim pleaded. Zoffy looked away, then turned to face his subordinate.

"It is not our place to question the council. We are to carry out their orders, not question them. Farewell." The entity faded, leaving Jim alone in his room, feeling like a traitor to his friends. 'Please, forgive me.' he thought sadly.

M78, about that time: Zoffy was finishing briefing Zenith on his situation, and told him that he will send the data on the Battle Nizer. Although, he knew that doing so would prove useless in the end, for what the council has planned. No matter how much they tried, the Space Garrison, nor the legendary Ultra Brothers, who have served as the peacekeepers of the Ultra-verse, could sway the Council of Light's decision. Indeed, it did look hopeless. Zenith was right, in that Zoffy knew, in his core, that what they were doing was wrong. As he went to the archives to retrieve the necessary data, he was stopped, by an old friend.

"It would appear that you are troubled, sir." Ultraman Hayata stated plainly, as he came up behind his superior.

"Let's just say that, I have a reason for hating politics with a passion." the older warrior said, bitterly. Both warriors made their way down a street, which appeared to be made of glass. Indeed, It seemed that all of the buildings and structures on M78 were made of a very fine crystal, that seemed delicate. Since their ascent to Ultra-beings, the natives of M78 were able to construct their dwellings and structures from energy, solidifying it into a crystal-like base. The result, was one of the most beautiful cities in the universe. As they made their way to the archives, Hayata tried to probe further.

"My son is at it, isn't he? I told you that he would be against this plan of ours."

"We can't really blame him, now can we. If we were in his position, we would feel the same way." Zoffy stated. As they entered the crystalline structure, they were greeted by an elder Ultra. All of the Ultras look almost exactly alike, save for some differences, like color scheme, facial construction, etc. Another side-effect of the rapid ascension. The elder went away, and was back carrying what looked like several cards made of glass. Zoffy thanked the old man, and both warriors returned to the Garrison Center.

"You know for a fact, that Zenith will fight against us, should we carry out this plan." Hayata said.

"It is not Zenith that I'm worried about. Rather, it's his friends, and the natives he fights to protect, and what would happen should they find out our true intentions." Zoffy said, gravely. He loaded the cards into a type of device that glowed when he placed the cards into it, and then, it fired a white beam of light in a direction. Zoffy left the area, while Ultraman Hayata remained behind.

'My son. Who would you choose over, really? Your own kind, or the new race that you have grown rather fond of?' For an answer, he got none.

Lylat System, in orbit around Corneria: The Great Fox was in orbit around the blue/green world. Jim Howards was in his quarters, contemplating the turn of events that had happened. His superior's reminder of his secret mission had troubled his mind further, and he can turn to no one about it. No one can know. He felt his inner-self tear itself apart with guilt. In his chair in front of his desk, he tried to write, but couldn't concentrate. He slammed the top half of the laptop down angrily, and held his head in utter frustration. He prayed that, Krystal would not notice this. He tried to bury the thoughts deep down, but found it difficult. Finally, after what seemed like forever, he succeeded, and focused on his literature project, for awhile, anyway. In the simulator, Falco Lombardi was close to breaking his old record. The simulator consisted of seven pods, that resembled the cockpit of the arwing fighters that the Star Fox team uses. The pods had the exact copy of the interior of the cock-pit, and the inside of the canopy would come to life with holographic images of various environments of famous battles that the team had went through over the years. The scenario that Falco was replaying, was the battle of Corneria, when Andross first invaded the planet several years ago. He was close to beating his old score, when a familiar person walked into the simulator room. Fox McCloud was going over the simulation logs, and noticed the score-record for Falco was increasing. He smiled to himself, and saw the simulator-pod that Falco was in, and the many flashes of light that emanated from underneath the shielded canopy. He rapped the canopy, and an irritated voice sounded from within.

"What is it? I'm busy!" Falco shouted.

"It's just me. Thought I'd let ya know, Jim is walking around again."

"That's great! What's he want, some cookies!" Falco asked, as he downed another enemy fighter. The simulator ended, and Falco saw his latest score. He sighed, not being able to break his old record. The canopy opened, and Falco stepped out, and was on his way to the exit when Fox joined him. The two pilots exited the simulator, and proceeded down the hall.

"What's eatin' ya, Falco?" Fox knew his friend pretty well, and he knew that, despite his usually grumpy demeanor, he knew when Falco was bothered with something.

"It's Jim."

"What about him?"

"Ever since he showed up, he's been the one taking out all of the badguys, and getting all of the glory. You know, what _we_ are supposed to be doing." Falco said. Fox smiled slightly.

"I know what you mean. You feel like you're useless, because of this guy who could do it all shows up, right?" Fox asked. Falco didn't reply. "I felt the same way, and I still do, a little. But we are a little out of our league, here. We went up against Babalu, and we barely managed to dent him. But when Jim showed up, he totally powned him, even if he did get banged up himself in the process." Fox said, his arms behind his head.

"Yeah, yeah. When things get too tough for us, Jim transforms, and everything gets better. It's not us, who risk our lives, who get the credit, it's this super-powered kid, who has barely any combat experience at all, who nabs all of the glory. Why? Because he has mutant powers that we don't have?" Falco slammed a feathered fist into a wall, and stood there, not moving. Fox stopped as well, watching his friend. Falco hated feeling useless, especially like this. Fox couldn't blame him. He still felt jealous of Jim, since all he had to do was transform, and the day would automatically be saved. Even the people on Corneria were starting to warm up to him a bit, both as a Star Fox member, and as a savior.

"I hate this. I just hate it! When Jim was gone, briefly, I welcomed it. At first I was against it, but then I realized, that maybe things could go back to normal. And then, his clone appeared, and we were no match for him. It took Jim to save us. Then, we went up against Babalu, and the same thing happened! We're useless, Fox. Utterly useless!" He slammed two more fists into the wall, and was starting to breathe more heavily in anger and frustration. Fox placed sympathetic hand on the avian's shoulder, who immediately brushed it off. He gave Fox an angry stare, and stormed off, leaving the vulpine feeling a little bit the same way.

As Falco made his way down the hallway, Jim was heading for the rec room, when he bumped into the avian.

"Hey, Falco. What's wrong with you?" Jim asked, smiling slightly. Falco just grunted, and resumed course. Jim had a puzzled expression, and resumed down the hallway, when he ran into Fox.

"Hey, Fox. What's up with Falco? Looks like someone replaced his birdseed with sand, or something."

"Ah, well, you know Falco. There's always something bothering him. I think he's just bi-polar." Fox laughed at this, and Jim joined him. "Where you off to, anyway?" Fox asked.

"The rec' room. I got nothing else better to do. Even my writing seems to be getting a little stale."

"And here I thought, that your literature was everything to you." Fox jibed.

"Well, almost. I have other priorities."

"Oh, yeah? Like what, pray tell?"

"Uhhh, let me get back to you on that, I still need to get a life." Both of them laughed at this, and both made their way to the rec' room. The room itself was large, in comparison with most other rooms. It had several arcade games along one wall, two large screen on another, with several video-game like controls coming out of them, and a large table next to another wall. The two made their way to the table. Fox pressed the switch, and the table hummed to life. Then, a screen appeared above the table, in the form of a hologram.

"Which one ya want?" he asked.

"I don't care. Whichever seems right with you."

"You got it." Fox replied. He selected the ping-pong selection, and the game started instantly. Both players had holographic paddles in their hands, Fox having red, while Jim had blue, and a ball appeared in front of them. Then, the ball flew at Jim, who served it to Fox, and both sent it back and forth.

"So, what was really eating Falco, anyway?" Jim asked, sending the ball back to Fox.

"No idea. He's just moody, that's all." Fox replied, returning the ball to Jim.

"Well, that tends to happen."

"Since when?"

"Since one feels worthless in the face of a superior being." Fox froze when Jim said this, letting the ball whiz by him, and disappear into nothingness.

"Yeah, I heard what you guys said." Jim said calmly, even smiling slightly.

"Uh, well, you know what a hot-head Falco can be. I'm sure that he didn't mean it." Fox said, trying to recover from his shock.

"Actually, he did. And, you feel the same way. And frankly, I can't blame you at all." Jim paused the game, and looked at Fox. The vulpine turned his gaze away, and looked downtrodden.

"It's just, you have these powers, and what do we got? All we have, are four fighters, and a ship. You have god-like abilities and powers, whereas all we have is combat experience inside of a cockpit. You suffered a fatal injury, and healed in a matter of hours. No one else that I can think of can do the things that you can do. Whenever we got into a jam, recently, all you had to do was transform into a deity, and everything would be peachy-keen. It was us who had to save everyone, and everyone knew that. Then, along you came, and now, people are starting to look up to you to save them, not us. Falco was right. We are obsolete compared to you." Just then, Fox heard chuckling, then laughter. He looked up, and saw Jim laughing heartily.

"What's so funny?" he asked, feeling rather irritated that he was opening up to him, and he was laughing at him. Jim stopped, and sighed.

"I guess, no matter where you go, people are the same everywhere."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked.

"Fox, come with me. There's something that I must show you." The pair left the room, and made their way to Jim's quarters. They entered, and Jim went over to his laptop, and brought up his browser. Then, his screen flickered to his movie selection, and all of them had the VLC media icon next to them, which was the picture of a traffic cone. He selected three movies, which were episodes from the Ultraman franchise. The first one that played, was the original Ultraman episode, titled 'Break through the Smoke'. Jim skipped to the fight-scene between Ultraman Hayata, and a monster called Kemura, which was a lizard-like monster that walked on all fours, belched forth toxic gas, and shot a laser from its tail-tip. It had armored plates along its back, that opened frequently. Ultraman Hayata fought his monster, but was having difficulty. Even his Spacium Kousen didn't work. When this failed, the SSSP used a new type of bazooka on the creature. Ultraman Held the creature, and the SSSP were able to destroy it.

"I…don't understand." Fox said. Jim merely smiled at this, and skipped to the next video. This one was an Ultraseven episode, titled 'The Ultra Garrison goes West, pt.1'. He skipped to the fight scene, like last time, and the fight-scene between the Ultra and his opponent played. The monster was a robot, that had large arms, and three-fingered hands. No matter how hard Ultraseven fought, he could not bring the monster down. He lost that fight. Jim fast forwarded to the next episode, the conclusion to the last episode. In this one, the fight picked up in a different location. Ultraseven fought harder, but the outcome was the same, he could not take his opponent down. Then the Ultra Garrison arrived with a new weapon. Ultraseven held the monster still, while the Garrison fired at the robot. It fell, and exploded. Jim looked back at Fox, who still bore the same confused look. Then, Jim turned to his monitor, and pressed the switch. The screen came to life, and the fight between him, as Zenith, and Doragon was playing.

"Where did you get this?" Fox asked.

"My superiors sent it, along with some other data. Please, watch this." Fox watched, and saw the fight as he remembered it. It played out as Jim/Zenith carried the monster out of the city, and presumed to fight it in the wooded area, away from innocent people. Then, the monster had him pinned down, and his warning light was flashing. Then, four familiar looking arwings appeared, and fired at Doragon, taking off his wings, and leaving a smoking hole in the side of his face. Then Jim/Zenith kicked the monster off of him, and proceeded to destroy it. Jim froze, and rewound to the scene where Star Fox saved him from Doragon, by firing at it. Then, the screen switched to his fight between him and Giradorus, with Jim/Zenith losing, due to the monster's ability to control the weather. Then, Star Fox appeared, and blew off two of the monster's tusks, allowing Jim to defeat his opponent. The screen went blank, and Fox turned to face Jim.

"Even though we have powers and abilities that you can only dream of in our possession, we are not invincible. We are not gods, nor do we pretend to be gods. If we were so omnipotent, then we wouldn't fear an attack from different realities, and I wouldn't be here, right now. Those episodes that you saw, however corny and cheesy they looked, were based off of real events that took place in my universe, the Ultraverse. Whenever an opponent too strong for us to handle appeared, and we were losing, it took ordinary people with mere combat skill inside of a cockpit and what-not, to save us deities from death. Fox, I suffered an injury that I could have died from. I thought that I was going to die, until I found out that my recuperative abilities had progressed this far, and that's _only after_ I woke up from my coma a few hours ago. Believe me, we are not immortal, we can die, just not as easily as you. If anything, you guys are more heroes than I can ever be. Why, because you put yourselves in greater risk than I can, and people know that. I can never replace you, no matter how hard I try. I need you, just as much, if not more, than you need me."

"But, we're not like the SSSP, or the Ultra Garrison."

"And I'm not asking you to be. All I'm asking, is whether or not that you'll support me, when I need it the most. Even though, like I said, I have powers beyond yours, I am still mortal. We need eachother, if we are going to survive this." Jim held out his hand, and fox looked at it. Fox was dumbfounded. Here, he thought that Jim was an all powerful being, and yet, he had told, and shown, that he is not invincible after all. He told him, that he needed them, just as much as they needed him. He didn't know what to say. So, he embraced the Ultra/human. Jim was caught off-guard by this, and simply returned the gesture. The vulpine broke away, and faced the young man.

"Thanks, I needed that."

"Anytime. Now, all I have to do, is convince Falco of this."

"I'm sure he'll come around."

"I don't know. He's personality is 90% ego." Both of them laughed at this, and Fox left his room after saying farewell. Jim was then haunted by the memory of his mission. He remembered his superior's words:

'_You will obey orders, and carry them out, exactly as planned. It is not our place to question the council's decisions, but to follow them.'_

'You're wrong, Zoffy. And, one way or another, I'll prove it to you." Jim promised to himself. Then, he felt his Spacium Brace glow and pulsate, as if in agreement with him.


	24. the Soldier returning Home

Chapter 24

The Soldier returning Home

"Alright, give him another." A voice sounded, and Babalu could feel energy arcing through his body. He groaned in pain, and the voice seemed satisfied, for the painful sensation stopped. Babalu looked around his surroundings painfully, and saw that he was inside of a ship, and that he was human-sized. He sat up, uneasily, and saw that he was on an examination table, and that Claire and Faust, in his human form, were standing at either ends of the table.

"Good thing that we passed by this area while searching for you. So, how did your little plan go?" Claire asked, wearing an amused smile on her lupine features. The gold and black invader did not look at her, and the lupine burst out laughing.

"I knew it! You are so predictable!" Claire said, overcome by a laughing fit. "You actually thought that your plan to lead them into a trap would work? Ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Claire recovered, and faced the glowering invader. "The Star Fox team themselves would've gotten themselves out of it. But what really got to me, was that Zenith delivered the coup de grace to you like that. To be honest, I was rooting for them." she smirked. Babalu felt his rage boil over.

"At least I was doing something! What were you doing, girl! Out of the three of us, you have been the least active! Are you too afraid to take them, yourself?" he sneered. Claire's smile faded instantly. Babalu felt himself smile on the inside as he poked further. "Yes, that must be it. You're relying on us, to do your dirty work. You sit back, and relax, while me and Faust risk ourselves to them. My plan would've worked, had it not been for a small miscalculation. What have you done lately, Claire? Or, should I use your real name?" Just then, Claire's hand shot out, and grabbed the invader by the throat. She dragged him up, and lifted him against the wall with just her right hand.

"Now, you listen to me, insect." she growled, baring her fangs at him. "Remember who it was who busted you out of that prison in the Ultraverse, and who gave you that proposal of ruling another galaxy. Remember who it was that saved you, when you could be rotting away right now. I'm starting to wonder why Gorzul wanted you alive." She released him, and Babalu clutched at his throat, hacking and coughing

"Now, you two morons listen up. Gorzul gave us new instructions." she stated.

"Oh, yeah? What are they?" Babalu rasped.

"Total destruction." Claire said, with a big grin.

In orbit around Corneria: Great Fox was just about to dock with the Beltino Orbital Gate, named after Beltino Toad, Slippy's father. During the Aparoid Invasion, it was the site of a vicious battle, and was the launch site of the assault on the Aparoid homeworld. As the team neared it, they gazed at the immense structure.

"Boy, this brings back memories,", Falco said, arms crossed. He remembers the battle, the war itself for that matter, quite clearly. The rest of the team agree, except for Jim. Having joined just under a year after the conflict, the Ultra/human only stares out at the gateway, that served as the temporary center of government for Corneria while the planet rebuilt itself.

"I wonder what Beltino wants us for, this time." Peppy wonders out-loud.

"Knowing my dad, it's probably something important." Slippy said, while slightly nodding. Krystal looked over at Jim, who never took his eyes off of the gateway. She noticed the peculiar look he had, and decided to ask him about it later. When the Great Fox docked with the gateway, the team boarded onto the structure, and were met with Professor Beltino himself, wearing a broad smile.

"Hello again, everybody. Thanks so much for coming on such short notice."

"Sure thing, professor. What's so important?" Fox asked.

"Well, it's about this unique find in a nearby system, and we'd like you to take a look at it."

"What use can we be of to you?" Peppy asked.

"Oh, not you, per se. Rather, him." Beltino replied, pointing at Jim. All others looked at him, while he held his surprised expression. The others followed Beltino through the hallways of the gateway, personnel and lab techies going to and fro to their posts and responsibilities. "The reason why I brought you here, was mainly because of Jim. I'd heard about his origins, and how he came aboard the Star Fox team. Also about his….unique talents, I should say." Jim froze to the floor, not believing what it is that he is hearing.

"Uh, professor, perhaps you could care to explain more?" Fox asked. Krystal felt Jim's hostile emotions start to build to the toad, and tried to pacify him.

'Save it. You'll need your energy prying my hands off of his nonexistent throat, if he doesn't choose his next words, carefully.' he communicated threateningly. He stormed past Krystal before she could say anything. As soon as they entered his office, Beltino locked the door, and made sure that his room was secure. It was spacious, having a fairly large desk, with a few photos of him and Slippy as a child, and of the adult mechanic now.

"I suppose you are wondering, how I know about you." Beltino asked, sitting behind his desk, wearing a slight smile.

"You're damned right I am," Jim growled. Krystal shot him a look, but Jim ignored it. He moved closer to the toad. "I want to know exactly how you found out about me."

"Hey, ease up, will ya Jim?" Falco asked.

"_You_ 'ease up', Falco. You're not the one with a secret to hide, that someone randomly found out!" Jim nearly shouted.

"Now, now, everyone, I will explain. Your being a super-being is known only to a select few. Myself and General Pepper, as well as certain heads of the military. _Only_ certain heads of the military. We daren't let this slip out. We know of the importance of your being an Ultra remain of the utmost secret. I was told about you, by General Pepper when he found out about your existence. Since then, I have been gathering as much data as I could on the Sol system." At the mention of Jim's home system, he stiffened. He held a glare that threatened to claim his life, if he uttered the wrong word, at the wrong time.

"Realizing that the data had not been enough, I decided to step up my search a notch."

"Don't tell me…you've been to the Sol system…" Jim asked, not taking his glare off of the amphibian. The tension was thick enough to be cut with a knife.

"We have only sent probes to gather photographs and samples. If you are worried that we will move over there and set up house, I assure you, that is not our intention." Jim seemed to ease up when the toad said this. Beltino continued. "What we had gathered at the natural satellite of Earth, is something that I think would interest you greatly." Beltino motioned for them to follow him, and the team did so. After walking down more of the hallway, the group went through a door marked 'delicate specimens', and what Jim saw, made him gasp. Standing in the middle of the room, was the American flag that was planted on Earth's moon by Neil Armstrong, more than fifty years ago. And beside it, was the cast of the astronaut's foot prints. Jim walked over to the couple remaining relics of Earth's history. He touched the flag, which was now limp in the gravitated room, feeling a mix of emotions wash over him; nostalgia, sadness, loneliness, and even a little bit of guilt. Krystal felt all of this, and placed a hand on the young man's shoulder. He moved over to the cast of the foot prints, and felt it as well, while saying, almost to himself, "That's one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind." He had tears forming in his eyes when he said this.

"Who said that?" Falco asked.

"Neil Armstrong. The first man to walk on Earth's moon." Jim said, as he wiped the tears from his eyes. He turned to his teammates. "More than fifty years ago my nation, and another called Russia, were in a space race, to see who could be the first to reach the moon and back. America, my nation, was the first. The man who was in command of the operation, Neil Armstrong, said those eleven words as soon as he set foot on the moon. It was to bring in a new era, a golden age, if you will. Only, that never happened." He got choked up when he finished saying this, and turned from his teammates. He felt a furred hand touch his shoulder, and saw Krystal looking at him with sympathetic eyes. He nodded, and regained his composure. "Did you find anything else?" he asked.

"No, I'm afraid." Jim looked at the amphibian.

"But, you must have. There was the command module, nicknamed the 'Eagle', that was supposed to be there, along with the flag and prints."

"I'm sorry, but all we found were these." Beltino said, gesturing to the flag and cast. "We were hoping that you could fill in the blanks for us. And now, that we know that there could be more, well…" he said, shrugging. Jim got the idea.

"You want someone to go back there." he said.

"If you could. I know that it may seem strange, maybe even a little sacrilegious. But, don't you think that artifacts like these belong in a museum, where others could see them, rather than be lost to space and time for all of eternity?" Beltino asked. Jim looked away, lost in thought. He turned back to the flag, saying "What the hell." with a slight smile.

After everyone was in Beltino's office, the amphibian pulled out something from his desk, most likely his PAD. He looked over it, and seemed to consider something, then, a smile creeped along his features. He looked up at the team, still keeping the smile.

"Tell me, how long ago was Earth destroyed?" he asked.

"Almost a year ago. Why?" Jim asked. Beltino handed him his PAD. Jim looked through it, and saw pictures of Earth, looking as it had just before he left. He smiled, and handed it back to the amphibian.

"That's nice, but what does that have to do with Earth being destroyed?"

"Did you not look at the dates?" Beltino asked, still smiling. Jim lost his own smile, as the amphibian continued.

"Those photos were taken, roughly two months ago." Jim was stunned, as was everyone else in the room.

"That's not possible. I've seen Earth. It's no more than a floating rock in space." Jim said, feeling uneasy.

"Well, not according to those photos." Beltino said. "Which, is why I would like to get a scientific research party started and head for the system, that is, if you don't mind." Jim could only look at him blankly. He was still processing the information that Earth might not have been destroyed. 'Does that mean that…' Jim did not finish his thought, as he snapped back to reality, albeit rather dully.

"Yeah…sure…research team…sounds good…" he said, as if in a daze. He started for the door, and found his legs weak. He stumbled, and the team caught him. He shrugged them off, and faced the amphibian. "Wh-when do we begin?" he asked, still uneasy.

"Immediately." Beltino said, with a smile.

Back on the Great Fox, Jim sat restlessly on his bed. His thoughts were a swirl in his mind. First, the American flag, found on the moon, shows up in the Beltino gateway, then, there is photographic evidence that the dead Earth might not be so dead after all. There was a knock at his door, and Jim smiled, knowing who it is.

"It's open, Krystal." And sure enough, the blue-furred vixen entered the door. She made her way to where Jim sat, and placed an arm around him.

"I can't believe that Earth might not be destroyed. If Earth is still intact, then your species might still be alive too." Krystal said.

"I know. I wonder how they might have survived. What did they go through, in the process that we thought should have destroyed it? Even then, It will be good, to see another human face for once in almost a year of living with you." Just then, a thought occurred to Krystal.

"Jim, if your people are alive, does that mean that, you'll leave Star Fox?" Jim looked at Krystal, who looked at the floor, discouraged. Jim placed an arm around her, not answering her question. How could he? He had longed to see another human ever since Earth was destroyed, supposedly. If he made physical contact with his race once more, will he leave the team, and live on Earth with his kind. The Star Fox team would certainly understand if he did so, but he felt at home here now. He was a member of the Star Fox team, and an Ultraman to boot. But, if humans did live, will he be able to turn his back on them once more? Jim merely held Krystal, for not having a real answer of his own.

Unknown area of space: Gorzul was sitting on its thrown. Its cloak was flowing down the seat, and reaching the steps. Then, the armored figure entered the room, and knelt in the presence of the evil entity.

"Lord Gorzul, our intelligence tells us that the Ultra is headed for Earth."

"Earth? Did we not destroy that planet almost a year ago?"

"We destroyed the human race, but the blasted Ultra Garrison were able to save the planet itself."

"I see. So, the process was interrupted by them. I'll have to see the persons who were in charge of the project, personally."

"I take blame for it, sire. It was I who should have watched the fools, and made sure that the other Ultras could not interfere."

"It is not your fault, Kaza-Miin. Also, this provides us an excellent opportunity."

"It does, sire?"

"Yes. I sent orders for the three in my control, to lay waste to the Lylat System. They would fail, of course, but it would set up your task nicely. Now, that the Ultra is headed for Sol, we can take Lylat without too much trouble. The problem, is those blasted animals getting wind of this."

"I'm sure that I can come up with something, sire. What are my new orders, Lord Gorzul?" Kaza-Miin asked.

"Combine your forces with those of Claire's, Faust's, and Babalu's. You will take two full battalions, and several dozen squadrons of my fighters and destroyers in your armada. Leave no stone un-touched in the Lylat system. And, I want you to be swift, in your endeavors. Strike like lightning, take them by surprise. And, the three are now expendable. Use them, as you see fit."

"Yes, Lord Gorzul." Kaza-Miin left the throne room, leaving a very pleased Gorzul to laugh like a mad-man.

Great Fox, nearing the Sol system: Great Fox, escorting a few research vessels, were just on the outskirts of the Sol system. Jim could see Pluto, and felt his anxiety grow. Krystal was standing next to him in his quarters, looking at the passing planet. A few minutes later, Jupiter was in view.

"I can't believe I'm back in the Sol system. It seems like a life-time ago, that I left this place for the Lylat system."

"I can imagine." Krystal said. Then, Fox's voice sounded over the intercom.

"Jim, Krystal, get up here. Earth is just about in sensor range." As soon as it was said, both Ultra/human and vixen left the room in a hurry, and entered the control head of the Great Fox. Fox turned to them, and smiled slightly.

"Let's see if those photos hold any weight." Fox said. He switched to the main monitor, and it flashed with an image that Jim thought that he'd never see again. Earth was spinning, just as it did a year ago, with all of its blue and green beauty intact.

"It's impossible…" Jim uttered. He fell to his knees, unable to accept the fact that Earth had survived. He just stared at the image of the Earth, spinning. The North American continent coming into view, with South America below, and Canada on top. The pristine oceans shining brightly in the sunlight, and the green vegetation giving it a look of life. Jim hung his head to his chest, then he sobbed gently. Krystal placed a hand on his shoulder. He wiped his eyes, and stood up.

"Are we getting any signals from the planet? Radio waves, transmissions, anything?" Jim asked, finding his composure once more.

"Nothing, except the same automatic transmission." Slippy said.

"What automatic transmission?" As soon as Fox asked, screen came alive with flashing pictures, photos, and such, going too fast for the eye to catch. Jim knew at once what it was.

"This is the greeting." Jim said.

"What greeting?" Peppy asked.

"In case of first contact with extraterrestrials, an automatic broadcast, detailing all of the information of our world and culture, is being sent out. It was to be the first step in meeting new races and such." Jim explained.

"My dad's ship is getting the same thing." Slippy said.

"Tell them not to worry. It's only a greeting, and maybe a hope, too." Jim said, the last part mostly to himself.

"Well, other than that, I got nothing else." Slippy said.

"What do you mean 'nothing else'? There should be transmissions aplenty going to and fro, on and off the planet." Jim said, heading for Slippy's station.

"Yeah, if there was anyone _on_ the planet." Falco replied, arms crossed. Jim shot him a look, and a thought went through his head. He glanced at Earth, then at the team. He bolted out of the room, and headed for the hangar. The team followed him, but his enhanced speed made it difficult. When they reached him, he was already in the process of transforming into his Ultra form. Then, Zenith was seen flying out of the forcefield, headed for Earth.

"Crazy kid! What's he planning?" Falco almost shouted. Krystal jumped into her own arwing, and flew after the Ultra, followed by the rest of the team.

"I'm getting a transmission from Beltino. He's wondering what that bright red light was that flew past them just a little while ago." Peppy said, from the Great Fox.

"Tell them it's nothing to worry about. We have it under control." Fox replied.

'Jim, please don't hurt yourself down there.' Krystal thought.

'I don't think anything can really hurt him.' Fox communicated through his rapport with Krystal.

'You'd be surprised, Fox.' she replied.

On Earth, in what's left of New York City: Zenith was in his normal form, and human size. What he saw, as he entered the atmosphere and descended to the inner airspace of New York filled him with hopelessness. The once great city that held millions, was a ruin. Looking like a Hydrogen Bomb hit, all of the structures were either badly damaged, or totally demolished. Even the Empire State Building was destroyed, having been blown in half by something powerful. He landed in the middle of a street, still human size, and looked around. It was about afternoon, and the sun was still high in the sky. His glowing yellow eyes were surveying the area. Then, he decided to look around. He ran from one building to another, looking for any survivors. No matter where he went, no matter how hard he looked, he could not find a soul anywhere. He decided to use his teleportation technique, and phased around the city, looking for anyone, any sign that the immense city was still inhabited. Soon, the Star Fox team's arwings touched down near where Zenith landed. When the team stepped out, they took in all of the devastation with shock, especially Krystal, who had a distinct sensation that, she had seen this from somewhere before. Then, Zenith appeared in front of them, teleporting from one part of the city. Before the team could say anything, he teleported again, this time to another area. But, it was fruitless. No matter where he went, he could not find a single soul, in all of New York City. He was the only human, in a city that was famous for holding several hundred million humans. His voice echoed from the buildings as well.

"HELLO! IS THERE ANYONE THERE? IF YOU CAN HEAR ME, PLEASE, TELL ME WHERE YOU ARE!" The echoes continued for several minutes, before Zenith teleported right in front of the team once more, and he collapsed to a knee, panting heavily from the exertion. Then, he stood up, and yelled. "**WHERE IS EVERYBODY?**" At the top of his lungs, he yelled this in his distorted voice, as loud as he could. Even the Star Fox team had to cover their ears from this. When the echoes stopped, the team looked on, and saw a rather depressed Zenith standing before them, his back turned to them. Then, he slumped the ground, and reverted back to Jim. The Ultra/human slammed his fists into the ground repeatedly, his choked cry issuing out. Then he stood up, and gave a scream of pain and rage. During this, his figure glowed crimson, and it seemed that he would transform again. However, the glow subsided, and he slumped to the ground once more. His energy spent on searching for survivors and anguish, he felt that he could hardly stand up at all. He just knelt there on his knees, and sobbed openly. He had hoped, he had prayed, that he would not be alone anymore. Now, he felt more alone than ever. Losing his world and people at the same time was one thing, but to find the Earth intact, and no humans on it, save for yourself, is enough to make anyone feel totally isolated. Krystal felt all of his emotions; disappointment, sadness, loneliness, anger, all of it was pouring out of him in droves. She embraced him from behind, and held onto him, as tight as she could.

"It's not fair. Dammit, it's just not fair." he said quietly.

"No, it's not." Krystal said softly.

"Alone. I'm all alone on my homeworld." Jim said, getting up.

"You are not alone." Krystal said, looking at Jim, not taking her eyes off him as she walked back into the group again. Jim looked at the four anthros who made up the Star Fox team. Jim looked at them, as they looked at him with warm expressions, even Falco, which was a shocker to him.

"Everyone, you…" he started, but looked away, as he felt tears well up once again. He felt fur-covered hands on his face, and looked up into Krystal's emerald green eyes. She embraced him, saying "Welcome home." softly into his ear. Jim returned the embrace.

Near the Earth: Babalu and Faust smiled inwardly, their mask-like visages unable to express emotions. They had been told by Claire that both the Ultra and the Star Fox team were on the Earth. How the Earth was still standing was anyone's guess as far as they were concerned. Behind them, several squadrons of attack fighters were awaiting their command. They descended to the planet's surface, human size, and undetected.

On Earth, in the ruins of New York City: Fox and co. had set up camp in the remains of Madison Square Garden. It wasn't so much a garden anymore, as it was a jungle. In the overgrown foliage, the team found solace in the middle of the great ruin, everyone except Jim, who just stood alone, looking at the ruined buildings with sadness, and disappointment. Krystal came up beside him, and looked at the devastation, then glanced at Jim.

"I was hoping that there would be someone here. A sign of life, any life, any indication that someone or something still lived here. The scanners picked up signs of animal life, to be sure, but no human life. I hoped, even though I probably shouldn't have."

"Don't talk like that. You have every right to hope, even if it is dead wrong. If you keep hope alive, then who knows what it is that you will find. The scanners picked up life on the surface, but what about below as well?"

"I doubt it. After almost a year, everyone would've starved."

"You don't know that. There could be someone left alive." Jim looked at the vixen, then back at the ruins. It was mid-afternoon, and the sun was still high in the sky. The scientific team, assembled and lead by Beltino Toad, had already touched down near the team and linked up with them.

"Well, shall we get started? I'm anxious to look around this place." Beltino said, rather jovially. Jim could only glance at him, then turned away. Jim lead the group, naturally, while the research team and guards, plus the Star Fox team, followed him. Although never been to New York City himself, he had done some reading on it. He lead them through one street after another, memorizing all of it as he went, as well as using the places he phased in and out of as reference points. The anthros could only stare at awe at the destruction and devastation that surrounded them. Cars littered the streets, some damaged, others totally destroyed. Rubble was apparent as well, and the black top and side-walks had large visible cracks in them. Then, Jim saw it; the place where the World Trade Center buildings stood, just before being destroyed by the infamous 9/11 terrorist attack. Jim ran over to the memorial, and stood there, while the rest of the group of a dozen or so anthros caught up to him. Jim told them the ugly truth behind the attack, and the War on Terror that George W. Bush waged in the Middle East. He told them about Desert Storm, Iraqi Freedom, Enduring Freedom, and Perfect Beginning, and his small part near the end of it. The team took it in.

"Wait, you told us that the war you were in was about oil." Slippy said.

"That was half of it, but it was also retaliation for the 9/11 attack. The reason why we were in the Middle East, was because George Bush wanted the Middle East for him self. Rich in oil, The terrorists provided the excellent excuse for us to set up shop there."

"Sounds like a dictator to me." Falco said. The team looked at him, while Jim, surprising them, agreed.

"That's nearly right. My nation was on the fast track from becoming a land of opportunity, to being a dictatorship. We were on the breaking point when this happened." Jim said, gesturing to all around him. The group took it in, and followed the Ultra/human down another road. Krystal remained behind, and looked back at the memorial, before continuing with them. After wandering around for the past several hours, they stopped at an intersection.

"We'll set up camp here, and continue on later. The sun is starting to set, and I don't want to stumble around in the dark." Fox said. The team set their packs and supplies down, and pulled out their field rations and portable shelters. The tent-like structures were self-inflating, and were completely erect in mere moments. Jim wandered into an abandoned department store not too far from the camp-site. Krystal followed him, without his noticing. She entered the ruined structure, and followed him. Jim remembered how he entered a store like this, not too long before his deployment into Iraq. He went to the electronics aisle, and started to browse through it. Surprisingly, most of the CDs, DVDs, and games were intact. 'Whatever hit, must have decided to be merciful and leave these behind for someone to find,' he thought. He picked up a DVD, an AVP/AVPR double feature, and smiled slightly. He placed it back, and went to the CD selections. He browsed through them, and thought he saw movement. He unholstered his blaster, and made his way to the source of the disturbance. He rounded a stand, and came face to face with a startled Krystal. He chuckled, and replaced his weapon.

"You just can't stay away from me, can you?" he asked, smiling slightly. She returned it, and went past him to the CDs. She browsed through them, and inspected them. The cases still had the plastic wrapping on them, except for the damaged ones, and looked at the ones that caught her attention. Jim went back to his own browsing, and found the ones that he was searching for; Foo Fighters: Echoes, Silence, Patience and Grace. He smiled at this, and placed the CD in his cargo pocket. Krystal saw this, and snatched it out of his pocket before he noticed anything. He whirled, as the vixen looked at the CD.

"Didn't your parents tell you not to steal?" he asked, rather irritatedly.

"What is it?" she asked.

"Music."

"What kind of music?" she asked, emphasizing the word 'kind' slightly, while also smirking.

"The kind I haven't heard in a long time." he answered. Jim reached for the case, but Krystal kept it out of his reach. He reached for it again, but she kept it out of his reach, smirking slightly.

"Come on, Krys, give it back." he said, trying to grab it from her, but failing.

"Why not let me keep this one? There's plenty others." she asked, smiling.

"'Cause I found that one first." he answered. He made a grab for it again, but she always kept it away from him.

"'Finders keepers', eh?" she asked, still smiling. "Sounds like someone needs to learn to share." she was almost laughing.

"I'm serious, vixen, give it back." he said, getting more aggressive. She started to back away, still smiling playfully. When he was getting too close for comfort, she turned and bolted. Jim cursed, and pursued her. He was faster than her, thanks to his Ultra enhancements, but Krystal made use of the various aisles that were in abundance. She twisted and turned, still clutching the case to her. She looked back, and saw that he wasn't pursuing her. She stopped, and back-tracked slowly, when she glanced around a corner, and felt a sharp sting in her tail. She yelped, and whirled to see Jim holding a tuft of white fur in between his thumb and forefinger. She looked at her tail, and noticed the same amount of fur missing from the tip. He was wearing a 'serves you right' look on his face.

"Why, you…" she started.

"You had it coming, girl." he said, knowingly. She lunged forward, but Jim leapt back. She bare her fangs at him, and he smirked.

"You can dish it, but can't take it, eh?" he asked, still smiling. She moved forward.

"Give me my fur." she demanded.

"Give me my CD, then, crazy lady."

"What did you call me?" she asked, sounding dumb founded. Then, she narrowed her eyes, and brought her voice to a low growl. "Call me crazy…one more time." she dared.

"Whack-job?" he asked, smiling innocently. She growled fiercely, then lunged. Jim barely got out of her way, and bolted from her. She pursued him, intent on evening the score.

"When I get my paws on you, I'm gonna tear both of your arms out of their sockets!" she yelled.

"When was your last rabies shot, again?" he called back, still smiling. She went full kilt, while Jim sped up as well. She knew that he could out-run her, so she changed tactics. She leapt up onto one of the stands, and made her way stealthily across. Jim looked back, and saw Krystal was gone. He stopped, and whirled. He placed the fur into his pocket, and moved about slowly, cautiously. He knew that when pushed far enough, Krystal would do just about anything to even things up. He looked around, even atop the aisle stands. He didn't notice the vixen coming up behind him, her face expressionless, her senses gone to predator-mode. She tensed atop her perch, and lunged. Jim felt her through the rapport, and turned in time to see a blue shape collide with him. Both of them rolled around on the floor, before stopping with Krystal on top of Jim, with the Ultra/human struggling to get from under her. He wasn't using his full strength, and he was actually smiling at the angry visage before him, finding how easily he got to her. She was trying to smack him, with him holding his arms up in defense.

"Give me back my fur, you little prick!" she shouted. He was almost on the verge of laughing.

"What's so damned funny?" she cursed.

"You." he laughed. "Look at you, you're a ball of blue fury." he said. She stopped, and looked at him.

"I ever tell you that you're cute like that?" he asked, innocently. She blushed in anger, and turned away, still on top, and her arms folded. "Could you let me up, please?" he asked.

"Not without my fur, I won't." she said, not facing him. Jim sighed, and reached into his pocket. He pulled out the tuft of fur he took from her, and handed it to Krystal. The vixen took it curtly, and got up off of the Ultra/human. Jim stood up, and looked at Krystal expectantly. She reached behind her, and gave him the CD she took from him. She was still mad, 'And still adorable,' Jim thought.

"I'm not adorable like this!" she stated. Jim decided to smooth out her ruffled fur a bit.

"Why did you take this, in the first place?" he asked, still smiling.

"Maybe because I wanted to listen to it?" she asked, heatedly.

"If you wanted to listen to it, all you had to do is ask." Jim stated. He went to the electronics aisle again, and was looking for the one item. He found it, a walk-man. And, it was in good shape too, considering the beating the case and surrounding environment took. He pulled it out, and placed two double-A batteries he found lying around inside of it. He pulled out the ear-buds that were inside of the case, and inserted them into the ear-bud port. Jim looked back, and saw Krystal standing behind him, looking over his shoulder. He held an ear-bud, and Krystal took it, and placed it into her ear. Jim did the same with the other one he had, and sat down, with Krystal sitting next to him. Both of them listened to the album, which lasted for a good hour and a half. As the last song played, he looked down at his left shoulder, and found Krystal's sleeping head on it. He smiled, and rested his head upon it. He replayed the album, and let sleep take hold of him.

He was in space. Hr looked around, and saw nothing but stars. He looked at himself, and saw that his hands were silver, with streaks of red. He knew that he was in his Ultra form, and Zenith looked around. Then, a bright flash blinded him momentarily, and he had to shield his eyes from the brilliant glare. When it subsided, he could see a female shape that was glowing. He couldn't make out who it was, on account of the glow, but he could guess.

"You once called me your 'betrothed'. Does that mean that, we were arranged for eachother before we were born?" he asked.

"Our families planned this after our birth. It was to be a union between two famous families who had a bit of a bad history between them."

"I see. So what warning did you have for me, this time?" Zenith asked. The Ultra being answered in the same tone. "On this planet that should be dead, you will face probably the greatest fight of your life yet. You may very well lose your life here. Please, I implore you, leave that world. You can still come back to M78."

"No."

"Why? Why do you choose to fight for these beings?"

"Because, they are worth fighting for."

"They are not human, nor Ultra. They resemble the creatures that were once in abundance on your former Earth. Is that why you fight so hard for them? Because they resemble something from your past?"

"No, because no one else will fight for them. You Ultras are starting to annoy me, with your disregard for their lives. Even my mission involves their destruction."

"Your mission involves the salvation of a race."

"A race that died eons ago." Zenith growled.

"It will be irrelevant once that race is back."

"No, it will be relevant, since I'll be signing away a race to nothingness. That's what you on the council want, isn't it, Lillith?" The entity seemed shocked by this, as it seemed to take an involuntary step back.

"You have recovered your memories." Lillith said.

"Yes, bit by bit, ever since I found Sheja's belongings, my memory has been slowly returning. I even remember you, Lillith. How, as a child, we were playmates once. But on that fateful day, you and your family swore me off, how you thought I was nothing more than a stupid child who unleashed Armageddon." Zenith almost shouted.

"I told Krystal the truth, and she didn't turn me away, nor spurn me, like you people did. She knew that I made a mistake, and forgave me. No, I'm wrong, she didn't forgive me, she _accepted _me. I was a child, yes, and she understood that. She looked into my memories, and saw the horror that Gorzul had caused. That never stopped her. She loves me. And I…love her in return." Zenith finally admitted to himself. Krystal had shown affection to him since day one, and now, he was returning it.

"Do you honestly think, that a creature like her can know the same emotions that we do?" Lillith asked.

"I don't think so, I _know_ so." Zenith said, in a quiet rage. Then, the dream faded, and Jim slowly stirred. His eyes opened, and he saw Krystal still asleep on his shoulder. He glanced down at his watch, and saw that the time was a quarter after 1900. He had been asleep for the past twenty minutes. He decided to head back to the camp, with Krystal asleep in his arms.

M78, at about that time: Lillith was leaving the communication chamber. The slender Ultra woman was typical looking of most of the female of her species; red and silver with curves, petite-looking faces, and the silver streaked about her in a feminine way. She made her way down a hall, and into a chamber where six other Ultras resided. They sat atop seats on tall poles, overlooking the entrance and room, giving them a sense of dignity and respect. They were dressed in white robes, with four of them males, and the other two females.

"Honored council. I am afraid I was unable to deter Zenith from the planet."

"It matters not, child," one of them said. "He will learn the hard way, if he has to, that our orders are not to be trifled with. We will carry on as scheduled." One of the females replied. Then, one of the males looked at the other. "Preparations are nearing completion. In about a month, it should be operational."

"Why so long?" the other female asked.

"We have never tried this before. Although we are able to use the gateways to travel to and fro in between worlds, this is something that, should the tiniest miscalculation be made, will back-fire with disastrous results. Everything must be perfect." another male responded to the second female.

"What about Zenith? He will fight against you, to his dying breath." Lillith inquired.

"That boy has been nothing but trouble since he released Gorzul. I still do not know why our two families agreed to such a thing as an arranged marriage in the first place. I knew that boy would turn out wrong." first female added.

"Mother, please…" Lillith began, but was cut off by her mother.

"Not another word, child. We have been monitoring your conversation. If he told those lower life-forms that he released Gorzul, then so much the better. If he tells them his true mission, then we _will_ have to speed our progress up, regardless," she stated, turning to the first male while saying the last sentence.

"Either way, we still need him, for now. He has awakened, somewhat, and may prove useful in the near future." The second male added.

"But, what if he chooses to remain in that reality during our plan?" first female asked.

"Then, he will die with the supposed animal-race that he has grown rather fond of." second male stated plainly. Unbeknownst to them, Zoffy was standing right outside of the door, listening to their conversation. He walked away, towards Space Garrison HQ. Destroying a race to bring another back is one thing, but if they were planning this, and cared not for the soldier that was going to lose his life, that's where he draws the line. The commander entered the head quarters, and instantly saw the exact two Ultras that he wanted to see.

Earth, the ruins of New York City: Jim awoken feeling his throat dry. He got up, and went to the check-out aisle. There, he found the miniature fridge with drinks inside. Knowing that it wouldn't be cold, he pulled out a Gatorade, and uncapped it. Even though it wasn't chilled, it still felt slightly cool. He sipped it, knowing that he hasn't had one in months. He re-capped it, and went down another aisle, taking in the scene of destroyed merchandise everywhere. After he wondered into the furniture aisle, he collapsed onto a lazy-boy chair, and let his mind wonder. Was he really the last human on this planet, or did others, somehow, survive. He let his mind wonder, while taking sips of his Gatorade. It was dark inside of the store, and he knew that it was dark outside as well. He wondered as well, what type of animal life survived here? Then, he heard an indistinct sound, and bolted upright. He got up out of the chair, and saw Krystal behind him, looking slightly annoyed.

"There you are. I was looking for you in this place for a while now." She saw the Gatorade in his hand. "What are you drinking?" she asked. Jim looked down at the Gatorade, and answered. "Something that I haven't had in a long while."

"Is it safe?" she asked, raising an eyebrow.

"So long as the seal isn't broken, these things can last for a while." he replied, smirking. He walked past her, back towards the check-out lane. Krystal followed him, and both made their way outside. They made it to the campsite, where the rest of the team was.

"There you two are. Find anything interesting?" Fox asked.

"For her, yeah. But, for me, all I found were ghosts." Jim replied sullenly, and slumped down to the ground. The rest of the team looked at him, feeling for him. Krystal sat down next to him, and placed an arm around his shoulders.

Not too far away: Babalu and Faust were floating in the air, the campsite within visual range. Their orders were simple: distract, or better yet, kill Zenith and the others before they get back to Corneria. Babalu was armed with a new Battle Nizer, to replace the one he had lost. And, he personally chose the monsters from Kaza-Miin's selection. He felt ready to exact revenge on both Zenith, and the Star Fox team. Faust was ready as well, having the selection he took from Addleson's little laboratory of horrors. Both of them landed near the camp, and decided to make a grand entrance. Once they had landed, they let loose with their energy weapons, blasting anything and everything in sight. Ruined cars exploded and went flying every which-way, followed by rubble and debris. The team hit the ground, and covered their heads with their arms, praying that the assault would end soon. When the explosions stopped, and everything was a smoking ruin, even more so than before, The team stood up.

"Any casualties?" Fox asked. Everyone was accounted for, including Beltino, who miraculously survived. Fox was about to issue further orders, when two cackling voices came from everywhere and nowhere. Jim recognized them at once. And at the same time, he felt his blood boil over.

"Alright, you cowards! Show yourselves!" Jim roared. Then, emerging from the smoke like a curtain, the floating forms of Faust and Babalu came into view. At first, they were side by side, but then, they separated and floated to opposite sides of the ruined camp-site. The rest of the team recognized the fallen Ultra and foul invader instantly. And, also instantaneously, brought up their weapons to bear on them. Faust and Babalu chuckled evilly at them.

"Look at them, Babalu. Just like cornered animals, they try to fight back."

"Of course, Faust. After all, it is only natural for theses lower life forms to act in such a way."

"Big talk, for two guys who got their butts kicked by these 'lower life forms'." Falco retorted. The evil invaders only laughed at them further. "Well, even we have to admit that alone, we are merely formidable." Faust said shrugging slightly as if his past defeats were no big deal, with Babalu doing the same.

"However, when we are together, we are unstoppable. Especially, with our army at our command." Babalu stated triumphantly.

"Ar-army?" Slippy asked, feeling a little afraid right now. Then, both invaders raised their Battle Nizers, and the items glowed. Babalu was the first to act.

"GO, Salamandora, Lunatyx, and Femigon!" As soon as he uttered those names, the names that Jim knows all too well, three small balls of light came from the side of the Nizer. Then, the balls landed at different parts of the ruined city, and swelled to gigantic proportions. The first one to be seen, was a reptilian looking monster, standing upright, a saurian-looking head, and had several tails. Jim knew this to be Salamandora. The second one to appear was a white-furred, rabbit looking monster, that even hopped like one, had rainbow hued ears, and had a paddle at the end of its tail, with glowing red eyes, and Jim knew this was Lunatyx. The other one was shaped like a dragon, only wingless, and had a large hump on its back, and two sacks dangling from under its head, which was attached to an elongated neck. This, was Femigon. The team looked on in shock at the monsters that appeared, but they weren't done yet. Faust raised his own Nizer.

"GO, Midoch, Serazus, and Engler!" As soon as he said this, three balls of light issued forth from the side of Faust's own Nizer, and landed on the opposite side of Babalu's monsters. The first one to swell and take shape, was one that reminded Jim of Enzyme from the 1980s anime Guyver, being covered in coarse white fur, a long neck with an insect-like head, large limbs, and a tail with a fin going down. The other one to appear was a bird-like looking thing, covered in scales, and feathers on the wings. It head a Pteranodon-like head, and stood at least fourty meters. The last one looked like a giant rose, or flower with pedals on its top and various vines issued from its stalk. Soon, the team was surrounded by the monster army, each member looking to and fro, from monster to monster as the cackling and shrieking horrors towered over them. Then, Jim placed his Spacium Brace over his heart, and shouted "GAAAIIIYOOOOO!" as soon as it flashed. The monsters were repelled by the brilliant flash, and Ultraman Zenith stood before them, standing in between the army, and the Star Fox team. Zenith took a fighting stance, and turned from monster to monster, while the invaders laughed at him.

"You have met your end here, Zenith. Strong as you are, even you cannot possibly hope to overcome the monster army before you. Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Babalu laughed.

"This is it! The end of the legacy of Ultraman Zenith. This is your final resting place! Not on M78, but on a dead little world that you once called home! How fitting! Ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!" Faust joined in. Just then, four arwings took up their places beside Jim, with their occupants inside. While the invaders were gloating, the fighters came here by automatic transmission, and the team jumped in. Now, even though they were hopelessly outnumbered and outmatched, they were going to fight side by side with Zenith. The Ultra looked at them, and nodded. Then, Zenith looked at Lunatyx and Salamandora, and issued a shout before charging at the two monsters with the Star Fox team right behind him.

Author's note: OHHHHH, Snap! Get ready for the biggest brawl yet! This next chapter is all action, no drama, no bull, just pure chaos and mayhem. Stay tuned!


	25. Infinity and Light

Chapter 25

Infinity and Light

On the outskirts of the Lylat System: The armada was pressing nearer. Kaza-Miin, in his personal flagship, couldn't help but smile at the sight. If not for his helmet and mask, the operators would've seen him smile. He smiled, as the fleet of some odd fourty warships bore down on the system.

Earth, in the ruins of New York City: The city once held millions of people. It was one of the most famous places on Earth. Now, if anyone was around the ruins, they would see a giant red and silver titan tackling an equally sized dragon-like monster to the ground, then land several blows to its small head. Zenith got up off of Femigon, and faced her partner, the reptilian Salamandora. He leapt up, and executed a flying kick to the monster's face, making it fall to the ground in a heap. The other four monsters, hissed and screamed at the warrior of light venomously. Not even two minutes ago, Ultraman Zenith, aka Jim, and the Star Fox team were facing the monstrous army, brought forth by the invaders Babalu, and Faust. The two aliens looked upon the brawl, but did nothing to indicate that they would take part in it themselves. They just floated up in the air, and watched the spectacle unfold before them. The Star Fox team separated into pairs, one took on the monster Lunatyx, while the other blasted at the plant. Fox and Falco fired at Lunatyx, making the rabbit-like Kaiju roar in anger at them, and bounded after the arwings.

"Reminds me of Peppy, except on steroids." Falco jibed. Fox shook his head, but unintentionally imagined the old hare on steroids, and smiled slightly himself. The rabbit-like Kaiju fired fire-ball after fire-ball at the two arwings, each shot missing their mark. Slippy and Krystal were up against the plant-like Serazus. The giant rose was stationary, only its constricting vines were mobile, as they tried vainly to snatch the arwings out of the air. Even Slippy, the least capable pilot, easily dodged the vines.

"Hey, this guy isn't so tough for a monster." Slippy said.

"Be careful what you say, Slippy. You just might jinx it." Krystal warned. It proved her to be right; One of the vines got lucky and nabbed Slippy's arwing out of the air.

"Help, this giant weed grabbed me!" Slippy yelled. Krystal let loose a couple bolts of emerald laser fire, that promptly severed the vine from the stalk. The vine dropped limply to the ground, and Slippy was freed.

"Thanks Krystal. I thought I was a goner." The amphibian said, relief showing in his voice.

"Just be more careful next time, Slippy." Krystal said. They fired at the vines, severing them from the main body. However, whenever one was separated, another soon regrew from the stalk. "This isn't working. They just keep on coming." Slippy said.

"Aim for the stalk, maybe it has a weakness there." Krystal said. They fired, but no matter how many times they scorched the stalk, they did no apparent damage to the plant itself. Zenith was busy fending off the monster Engler, the one that reminded him of Enzyme from Guyver. It even had the same type of attacks as its animated counterpart, attacking by spitting a type of acidic saliva at him. Zenith dodged the assaults with ease, the shots being almost wild, but aimed at his general direction. Then, Zenith moved in and landed a side-chop to its insect-like head, making it stumble back a step. Zenith pressed his advantage, and delivered several punches to its face. The exoskeleton was starting to crack, and red blood seeped out. Then, in swiftness that belied its size, Engler caught one of Zenith's fists in its massive claw. The Ultra tried to pull away, but the grip was solid. Then, Engler grabbed his head, and threw him against a building. Zenith crashed against a ruined sky-scraper, and slumped to the ground. He looked up, and saw Engler bearing down at him. He reacted barely in time, as he rolled out of the way as Engler crashed into the remains of the building, bringing it down onto it. Zenith turned his attention to Serazus, the two arwings blasting at the plant. Then, the bulb lowered itself, and a type of spore was falling from the head. The two arwings were caught in the dust-shower, and were starting to lose control. Zenith reacted as fast as he could, and leapt up. He caught the two fighters in his hands, and set them down gently onto the ground, away from the fight. He them turned to the plant. He sent two shredding halos at it, which separated all of the vines from its body, and started to buzz-saw their way up the stalk, and finally, separated the bulb from the stalk. The bulb fell to the ground, and the stalk withered to the ground as well.

'Well, that's one down.' Zenith thinks to himself. He looked down at the two arwings. "Are you two alright?" he asked in his distorted voice.

"We're fine." Krystal replied, and both arwings were in the air once more.

"Good, then go give Falco and Fox a hand." Zenith said, before flying off to face off against the army once more. Zenith landed in front of Salamandora, just as he was recovering form the earlier attack. Zenith bore down on it with a fury unmatched. He tackled it to the ground, and started to beat its face with his fists, each blow making it grunt in pain. Then, it used its tails to whip Zenith in the back. The warrior of light grunted in pain and surprise, and Salamandora forced the Ultra off of him. Zenith rolled onto the ground, and stood up, facing the reptile. The monster opened its maw, and missile-like projectiles fired from it. Zenith stood there, with his fists planted on his waist as the projectiles just bounced off of his muscled form. Then, he ran and grabbed the lizard in a headlock. The lizard started to suffocate, its airway blocked. Then, it slashed at Zenith with his claws, throwing sparks from the impacts. Zenith gave a pained grunt, and released Salamandora. The two titans faced eachother, then Zenith charged. He ducked under Salamandora's swinging claws, and hoisted the lizard-like kaiju onto his shoulders. Then, he went from a fire-man carry, to actually holding the monster clean over him. He threw the monster up, and jumped as well. He summoned energy into his right hand, and swung it up. After making an impact, and the straight-edged sliced through the neck of the monster. Zenith landed on the ground, with Salamandora's headless corpse landing behind him. Fox and Falco saw this.

"That's the way!" Falco said. Just then, he was hit from behind, as one of Lunatyx's fire-balls connected with his arwing. His shield just dropped by sixty percent. He cursed, and tried for a head to head match with the rabbit-like monster. Lunatyx fired at the arwings, but the blasts were either dodged, or repelled by the magnetic effect of Falco's barrel-rolling. Then, he unleashed two nova bombs at its face. One missed, since it ducked its head. However, one did connect. It exploded against its head, and it grabbed the spot where it had been attacked, howling in pain, jumping up and down.

"Nice shot, Falco!" Fox said over his head shot.

"I don't believe it, but I think I just made ugly over there even more ugly." Falco replied. Lunatyx looked up, rage burning in its eyes. It was just about to fire more of its fire-balls at them, when it was attacked from behind with more Nova bombs. It whirled, and saw two more arwings bearing down at it.

"Krystal, Slippy! Are you two alright?" Fox asked.

"We're fine, Fox. How about you?" Krystal asked, smiling.

"We've been better." Falco replied. Just then, several fire-balls whizzed past them. They all looked down and saw Lunatyx preparing to fire another volley. Just then, Zenith came in, and kicked it in its face, making it stumble back. Its face was met with a cross, followed by another cross, and finally an upper-cut, sending it reeling back. Finally, Zenith did a jump-kick that sent it crashing to the ground. Zenith got into a battle stance, daring Lunatyx to stand back up. The team watched this from the air.

"Ya know, I get the impression he's trying to impress you, Krystal." Falco teased.

'I heard that, stool-pigeon!' Zenith shouted through his telepathy. Krystal laughed to herself. Lunatyx stood back up, and Engler pulled itself out of the rubble of the ruined building it crashed into. It joined its comrade, and stared down at Zenith, screaming their rage at the warrior. At that moment, something struck Zenith from behind, and he went crashing down. He looked up, and saw the avian Midoch take its place beside its three larger comrades. Just as Zenith got back up, He was assaulted from behind again as fire-balls detonated against his back. Femigon had recovered, and stood beside Lunatyx. The four monsters stood side by side, and screeched bloody murder at the Ultra, demanding vengeance for their fallen. Zenith recovered, and got back into his battle stance.

"Four against one is hardly fair." Slippy said, as his arwing floated beside Zenith. Just then, Zenith saw the other arwings do the same thing. He looked at them, and nodded. He faced the four monsters, and charged once more. He grabbed Lunatyx and Femigon in a clothes-line, and tackled them to the ground. He landed blow after blow on both of them. The two monsters knocked him off of them, and Zenith rolled back up to face them. Just as they were bearing down on him, the Star Fox team acted, sending charged shots and nova bombs their way. Explosions erupted around them, as the fighters made their runs. Then, the four-man team separated into pairs again, and each attacked a monster. Krystal and Fox assaulted Femigon, while Falco and Slippy kept Midoch company. Zenith focused on Lunatyx and Engler. The two kaiju rushed the warrior of light, who nimbly leapt up, and aerial-somersaulted out of harm's way. He landed behind them, and struck his battle stance. The two monsters whirled to face him, realizing that their target was not there. Zenith made a 'come hither' gesture with his hands, and both monsters answered. They charged again, and Zenith charged as well, he collided with them, and they nearly knocked him back, but he held his ground. They grabbed him, and swung him around. However, he broke their hold on him, and gave Lunatyx a kick to the stomach, making him fall back, and two crosses to Engler's face, making him stumble back. Then, like with Salamandora, he hoisted the monster up, but instead of throwing him up in the air, he chucked him at Lunatyx, who was just getting back on his feet. Engler collided with Lunatyx, and both fell in a heap.

In the air, Midoch was after Falco and Slippy, flying as fast as the arwings themselves. However, it could not catch up to them, at first. Slowly, but surely, it started to go faster and faster.

"I don't believe it, it's starting to catch up to us." Falco said.

"What do we do now?" Slippy asked.

"We can't speed up, might as well slow down!" Falco said, as he decelerated to a dead stop, with Slippy stopping right beside him. Midoch flew past them, seeing too lat that the fighters had stopped. The arwings started back up again, and pursued the avian. They fired their lasers and charged shots, scorching its flesh and making it shriek in pain from the assault.

On the ground, Femigon was shooting fire-ball after fire-ball at Fox and Krystal. The fighters nimbly dodged the shots, while firing their own emerald lasers at the dragon-like kaiju. Femigon roared her displeasure, her cackle-like cry echoing through the air.

"Jeez, what a sore loser." Fox said.

"Well, she doesn't like it when her prey fights back." Krystal said.

"'She'? How do you know it's a she?" Fox asked.

"A girl can tell. That's all." Krystal replied, grinning from ear to ear. They continued their assault, while Femigon tried to bring down the arwings. In the air, Babalu and Faust looked upon the spectacle, frowning on the inside.

"These guys are proving to be more resilient than we thought, Babalu." Faust replied, all trace of amusement gone from his voice.

"I believe that it is time that we intervened, personally, Faust." Babalu replied in a cold tone. Then, both invaders grew to their giant size, and looked over to where Zenith was punching the day-lights out of Lunatyx. Babalu came in with a jump kick to Zenith's face, flooring him to the ground. Zenith got back up to face the invader, but was floored once more by several energy blasts exploding around him. Faust landed next to Babalu. Both villains looked at eachother, then back to Zenith. Zenith uneasily got back up, having been caught off guard by the sudden assault. Faust leapt up, and tackled Zenith to the ground. He dragged him up, and started to rain down punches onto his face. A cross sent Zenith to the ground, and Faust mercilessly kicked him in the sides.

"Hey, leave some for me." Babalu said. Faust backed away, and Zenith got to his feet, just to be knocked down by a drop-kick, courtesy of Babalu. Babalu then brandished his forearm blade, and started to slash at Zenith. Each slash making contact with his armored hide. Zenith grunted and groaned in pain from each strike. Krystal was watching this, and stepped in. She fired her charged-shots at the invader, each one hitting their mark. They exploded against the invader's armor, and threw sparks from where they impacted. Babalu whirled, and actually caught Krystal's arwing out of the air. He held in a vice-like grip, the arwing unable to escape.

"Krystal!" Fox shouted. Zenith looked up in time to see Babalu start to exert pressure on the fighter. Growling with effort, Zenith got back on his feet, and charged up his Spacium Kousen. Before he could execute it, he was attacked from behind, and knocked down. Then, he felt powerful claws grab him by the arms, and saw Engler and Lunatyx hoist him to his feet. Faust came forward, and cracked his knuckles. Babalu looked at the arwing, and said "You will watch this.", his voice full of spite. Faust assaulted the young warrior of light, and did not do it mercifully. Punch after kick after chop after blow, he made Zenith pay for defeating him. For a full minute, he assaulted the Ultra, Zenith's warning light starting to flash at a steady pace. Faust backed away from him, Zenith Bending over, his body hurt and painful from the ruthless beating he received from the dark Ultra. Then, Babalu came forward, and brandished his forearm blade menacingly. He slashed and stabbed without mercy, making the Ultra bleed light on various parts of his body. With a final swing, He left a deep, ugly gash on his chest, making the Ultra scream in pain. Krystal gasped when he saw this, her hands to her mouth. Babalu looked at Krystal, and if it were possible, he would be smiling evilly at her. Of course, Krystal could feel his glee emanating from him, like a noxious gas. "And now, princess, the coup de grace; letting you, watch him die." he said, spitting the last word. He raised his blade high, and was about to bring it down upon the Ultra's neck, who was panting heavily at this point. He looked up, and stared at oblivion on the face. Only one word escaped Krystal's mouth ;"JIIIIIIIMMMM!"

Just then, a flash of light came from above them, and twin balls of light descended from the heavens. The crashed down to the ruined Earth, making the two monsters fall away from Zenith, and the invader and Dark Ultra fly back as well. Babalu let go of Krystal at that moment, and the fighter was sent in a free-fall. Krystal shut her eyes, and awaited for the inevitable. She felt herself stop, and peeked out of one eye. She opened both eyes, and saw that she was in mid-air. She looked up, ad her jaw dropped at what she saw. Babalu and Faust recovered from the sudden attack, and looked at what it was that landed. What they saw, sent icy tendrils to their hearts. Fox, Slippy, and Falco looked on in awe at the new arrivals, while Zenith looked up, and felt relief and assuredness swell within his being. Standing in front of them, were two more Ultras. One was red and silver, like Zenith, except the facial design was different, being more streamlined, with streaks of red on the sides of the head and face. The other one was blue and silver, Mostly blue, with silver showing slightly underneath, with horn-like protrusions on the side of his silver head. The blue was holding the arwing in an open hand. Krystal took off, with the Ultras watching her. She rejoined the team, and looked at the other Ultras. Zenith knew them by name.

"Mebius! Hikari!" he shouted, weakly. They turned, and made their way to their fallen brother in arms.

"Zenith! Are you alright?" Mebius asked.

"I'll live, nii-san." Zenith replied. Mebius helped him up to his feet.

"Don't worry, we'll share our energy with you." Hikari replied. Both Ultras took two steps back from Zenith, and their warning lights flashed. Then, blue energy poured from them, and into Zenith's. Immediately, his warning light stopped flashing, and all of the cuts on his body were healed, as well as the soreness that was spread throughout. He nodded at both of them, and both Mebius and Hikari returned the gesture.

"Impossible! How are you two here?" a familiar voice shrieked. The three warriors of light turned, and saw both Faust and Babalu facing them. It was Hikari who answered.

"The same way that you did, invader. However, you will not leave the same way. This time, I will personally make sure that you die, here and now!" With that, Hikari got into his battle stance, and lunged at Babalu. He tackled him to the ground and rained down blows onto him. Mebius and Zenith both rushed at Faust, tried to shield himself, but failed. They body-checked him, and he was sent flying several hundred meters away. After he recovered, he ordered his monster to attack. Engler and Midoch attacked the two warriors, while Faust kicked Hikari off of Babalu. The invaders recovered, and tried a counter attack.

"SLAUGHTER THEM!" they both shouted at once. As soon as that was said, the four monsters bore down on the three Ultras.

"Nii-san, let's show them who it is that they are dealing with." Zenith said. Both Ultras nodded at the younger member. The three of them got into their combat stances, and rushed at the four monsters. Zenith got Engler in a headlock, Mebius grabbed Lunatyx, and rolled onto his back, and used the momentum to propel the kaiju into another building. Then, Mebius leapt onto the monster, and rained down punches and chops. Hikari leapt up over Femigon, and grabbed her tail. After trying vainly to shake the warrior of light off, Femigon found herself being dragged across the ground, and then was spinning around. After several moments, Hikari let go, and Femigon was sent flying into more ruined buildings. Zenith was punching Engler repeatedly in its insect-like face. After Engler tried vainly to swipe at Zenith with its claws, it tried its acidic saliva once more. It spat the projectiles out, only to have Zenith evade them. Whatever it was that the projectiles hit, turned to foam on contact. Midoch was busy with the arwings. No matter how fast they got, it always matched them, speed for speed.

"Fox, get this guy off of me!" Slippy wailed. Fox McCloud swung in from behind, and took potshots at the avian. However, the emerald lasers weren't doing much good against its scaly hide. Midoch snapped at Slippy and Falco, but it missed them. However, its beak was getting a little too close for comfort. Just then, a bright blue beam shot out from beneath Midoch, and collided with the creature. It was engulfed of a giant fireball, and turned to ashes. The team looked down, and saw Hikari in his Hikari Shot stance. They nodded at him, and he returned the gesture. Just then, Femigon tackled Hikari to the ground, and pinned him. Hikari tried to force the dragon-like kaiju off, but it was no use. It started to lunge forward with its head, in the hopes of biting his own head off. Then, several nova bombs detonated against its back, making the monster wail in pain. Hikari kicked the kaiju off of it, and got back up. He looked up, and saw the Star Fox team flying by. He nodded at them.

"Now, we're even." Falco said. Hikari turned his attention back to Femigon. He ran at the monster, and grabbed it into a choke-hold. Then, he kicked its main body, and actually did a shoulder toss, sending it crashing onto more ruined buildings several hundred meters away. Femigon stumbled to her feet, and Hikari charged up his famous finisher; he threw his right hand up into the air, where blue energy crackled into his Knight Brace. Then, he brought his right hand down, with the left hand meeting it at the wrist, forming an 'X' shape over his chest. A moment later, he brought his arms up into a plus shape, with the right hand vertical, and the left hand behind the right horizontally. His Hikari Shot fired, and struck Femigon in the chest. The monster howled in pain as the beam seared its flesh. When the beam died, Femigon let out a weak warble, and fell forward, exploding into tiny flaming fragments. Hikari nodded in satisfaction. Mebius was punching Lunatyx in the face repeatedly, then hip-tossed it to the ground. Lunatyx got back up, and fired its eye-ball blasts at the warrior. Mebius evaded them with ease, rolling away to one side. Then, as Lunatyx still fired, Mebius executed back-flip after back-flip. He came up, and fired his Mebium Arrow at it, making the monster stumble back. Mebius decided to finish this. He placed his right hand over the Mebium Brace on his left forearm. He threw his arms out, cross style, and slowly brought them over his head, the Mebius symbol glowing in between his hands. A moment later, he fired his Mebium Shot, his arms in a plus shape, as the gold and white beam punctured the monster's hide, and exploded out the other side. Lunatyx screamed in pain, and exploded into flaming debris. Mebius stood back up, and let out a sigh of relief. Zenith delivered a spin-kick to Engler, followed by another. Then, he placed a cross to its face, making it stumble back to a knee. Zenith executed a spin-kick to its face, making it fall to the ground. Zenith hoisted the monster clean over him, and chucked him into more ruined buildings. Engler uneasily stumbled out. Zenith threw his right arm into the air, where light and energy gathered into it. He swung it down, shouting "SPACIUMMU-" then, he placed his arms into a cross shape, and shouted "KOUSEN!" As soon as he said it, the powerful blue/white beam fired form the edge of his hand, and connected with Engler. After several moments of contact, the monster promptly exploded. Zenith stood straight up, fists clenched. Then, the three Ultras turned their attention to the invaders, who were starting to back away from them.

"No-no way. Our four monsters…defeated just like that…" Faust started. Babalu was used to seeing Ultras trump kaiju like this. But, it never ceased to irk him so, especially now.

"Faust, let's retreat for now. We have to tell Kaza-Miin who showed up here."

"Right."

"Oh, no you don't!" Zenith shouted. Just as the two invaders were about to fly away, Zenith let loose his Spacium Kousen upon them, bringing them back to the ground. They winced, and struggled to rise. Once they got back up, they were met with more energy based attacks. Babalu and Faust were floored instantly.

"That's IT!" Faust shouted. His eyes started to glow red, and he charged at the three Ultras. Babalu pulled out his staff, and went in swinging. Mebius and Hikari took on Babalu, evading his staff, while summoning their Mebium and Knight Blades from their braces. Zenith took on the enraged Faust. Both of them traded blows, but neither was able to overcome the other. Then, Zenith pulled away, and switched to is 'Powered' form, and engaged Faust that way. Mebius and Hikari, despite having the advantage in numbers, found it difficult to land a blow on their target. No matter how they tried, Babalu always dodged, and evaded. Soon, he was striking at them with his staff, and they were connecting. He slashed Hikari with the prong end, sending him flying back, while Mebius got a dose of both of his fore-arm blaster, and a whack from the mace end from his staff, the assault sending him flying back as well. Both Ultras stood back up, while Babalu taunted them.

"Is this really the best that you two got? If my memory is correct, you guys were a lot stronger than this. Show me what you really got!"

'Wish granted.' Hikari thought. He raised his right hand skyward, shouting "AAARRRRRBBUU!" Then, a shimmering shape descended from the sky. It was like several crystals circling and floating around a sphere of light. When it made contact with Hikari, there was a bright flash, and Hikari was engulfed in light. When it subsided, he was wearing what looked like to be some type of armor. His head, chest, and various places on his arms and legs looked like they were sheathed in a blue and white covering. His eyes were covered, making it look like he had a helmet on. He took a new battle stance at Babalu. Mebius nodded, and also decided to step his game up a notch. He placed his Mebium Brace over his heart, where it glowed red. Then, flames danced out of it, and it encompassed his form. After a crimson flash, Mebius went from mostly silver with red streaks, to having red almost cover his body, as well as having a golden flame design adorned his chest. The Star Fox team did not know this, but Babalu knew that Mebius converted to his Burning Brave form, and Hikari summoned his Armor of Heroes, becoming the new Hunter Knight Tsurugi. The invader felt his heart sink. He lashed out with his staff, only to have Tsurugi catch it with his bare right hand. He shoved Babalu away, and snapped the weapon over his knee. Then, Mebius assaulted Babalu with a fury of punches and kicks. Then, he hoisted the invader over him, and threw him into some ruined buildings.

Zenith was still fighting Faust, but the odds were completely in his favor. He blocked and countered every move that the Dark ultra threw at him. Faust tried for a cross, but Zenith caught it, and twisted his hand, hearing an audible snap, making Faust shout in pain. Then, he launched several jabs at Faust's midsection, making him double over, and a round-house kick to his abs, sending him back, and landing next to Babalu. Both invaders struggled to their feet.

"Guys, let's go for a triple attack!" Zenith said to Tsurugi and Mebius. Both Ultras nodded in agreement. Tsurugi raised his right hand, energy gathering into it, much like Hikari's Hikari Shot. Mebius placed his Brace over his heart, where flames started to emanate from it. Then, he placed his arms out, cross style. Zenith placed both arms over his head, the arms meeting at the wrist, and flashing yellow. Babalu and Faust tried to escape, but were severely weakened, Faust's warning light was flashing now, and he could hardly stand up, with Babalu feeling the same way. Tsurugi had gathered enough energy, and like Hikari's finisher, he placed his hands over his chest, while Mebius started to bring his hands to his chest, his hands meeting at the palms, cupping a large ball of red, flaming energy that was generated from the flame design on his chest. Zenith brought his finger-tips to his warning light, where golden light swirled into it. He placed his left arm straight out, while he kept his right arm bent up at the elbow, his hand outstretched. Zenith shouted "_**MEGANIUMMU-**_", and brought his left arm to meet the right arm, the hand closed into a fist, connecting with the inside of the right fore-arm.

"_**KOUSEN!**_" As soon as Zenith shouted this, a golden beam of energy erupted from his fore-arm, going from his elbow, to his finger-tips. Mebius threw the energy ball he had been generating at the two aliens, while Tsurugi executed his Knight Shot, the beam executed the same manner as Hikari's Hikari Shot, the multi-colored beam impacting both of the invaders the same time as the Meganium Kousen and Mebium Burst did. Just then, when the three finishers impacted against the two invaders, it looked like a miniature sun rose up in the middle of the ruins of New York City. A large explosion and light engulfed the two aliens, one that everyone present was sure that there was no way that they could possibly survive. After a loud explosion and blinding flash subsided moments later, all that was left of the aliens, was a crater that was several hundred meters in diameter. The three warriors of light dropped their poses, and stood upright once more. Their warning lights were flashing as they reverted back to their normal selves. Zenith looked to Mebius, and nodded in appreciation, which Mebius returned. He then turned to Hikari, and did the same thing, and the same gesture was returned. The Star Fox team could only stare at the spectacle that unfolded before them. First, two new Ultras showed up, and helped out Jim, then, they powered up, and unleashed hell upon the monsters and aliens. They were pretty much speechless at what they saw. Then, Zenith turned to the team, and said in his telepathic voice 'Shall we go? My friends here have something they would like to discuss with me.'

"Uhhhhhh, sure, why not?" Fox managed. He had dozens, if not hundreds, of questions for the two Ultras, the biggest ones on his mind right now being how they got here, and what their intentions are. Of course, the rest of the team had the same thing in mind. Zenith nodded, and flew up into the sky, followed by Mebius and Hikari. Then, the Star Fox team joined them.

In orbit around Earth: Zenith, Mebius, and Hikari were nearing the Great Fox. Peppy, who had been monitoring the situation, opened the forcefield for the three Ultras. They shrunk, and entered the docking bay, followed by the Star Fox team. The arwings landed on the docking ports, and the team jumped out of their fighters. They made their way to the three Ultras. Zenith reverted back to his human form of Jim, and the other two did like-was; Mebius reverted back to his human form of Mirai Hibino, who looked like an 18 year-old kid with a yellow jacket, jeans, and long, combed hair. Hikari reverted back to his human form of Serizawa Modikawa, who looked middle-aged, and wore a black over-coat, with a black shirt, pants, and boots. Both were of Japanese descent, unlike Jim. When the team saw them, they gasped, even though they probably saw this coming. Other than Jim, these people were the first humans that they had seen. Or, at least, they looked human, but like Jim, there was far more to them than meets the eye. Jim made the introductions, stating that these two Ultras were sent here to back him up. The two Ultras concurred with him.

"How did you guys get here?" Falco asked.

"When we were told to come to this reality by our commander, we reopened the portal that connected our world with this one. I think that Zenith explained that to you." Mirai stated. They nodded. Jim did say that his race did possess the ability to transverse dimensions, but didn't tell them, save for Krystal, much else. Peppy, who arrived shortly after the arwings landed, was standing in front of the team, facing the three Ultras.

"Is that the real reason why you two are here?" he asked.

"Actually, we were instructed by our commander to report to Zenith, and to receive special instructions from him." Serizawa replied. Jim turned to face them, puzzlement evident on his face.

"What are you talking about, nii-san?" he asked.

"Is there someplace private that we could talk?" the older asked. Jim nodded. He led the two Ultras out of the hangar, followed closely by the team. He escorted him to his quarters, and locked the door behind them. The team tried to listen in, but the door and walls were soundproof, like all of the rooms. Then, the team made their way to the command head. There, Fox switched to the security camera feed that was in Jim's room. The three Ultras were conversing with eachother, but silently, due to the audio feed being turned off. Fox activated it, and the conversation was heard.

"You seem to have it pretty nice here, nii-san." Mirai said, sitting down on the bed.

"Especially since you have to be around such…interesting company." Serizawa said, smiling slightly. Jim nodded in agreement.

"One thing I don't get, why haven't we heard of this type of race beforehand? I know that we have seen stranger life-forms before, but, nothing like these guys." Mirai continued

"Probably because they didn't show up, until recently. Remember, not many Ultras came here before Sheja did, and he didn't reveal a whole lot to anyone else." Jim replied. The way he talked, was like he was not a member of the team, rather, an observer, which he probably was for all they knew. Jim told them everything about his race, and how they traveled in between dimensions. The only thing he didn't tell them was, minus Krystal, how he unleashed Gorzul in the first place. To them, now, he didn't seem like a real member of the team, rather, he was just there to lend a hand whenever they needed it.

"Do they know, though?" Serizawa asked. Jim looked at him, and shook his head.

"Know what?" Falco asked out loud. Fox shook his head, indicating he didn't know either.

"Probably for the better then. After all, I think that is part of the reason why we are here." Serizawa said. He pulled out a small device, and activated it, making it flash continuously. However, before anything else could happen, Serizawa whirled, and was looking right at the security camera.

"I do believe that we are being monitored." he said, smirking. Jim looked up, and saw the security cam hidden in the air duct. He went over to it, opened the grating, and pulled the cap over the lens, and switched off the feed video and audio feed. The rest of the team seemed rather deflated at this.

"Well, looks like Jim had another agenda." Peppy said. Krystal looked up at the blank screen.

'What else are you hiding, Jim?' she wondered. Back in Jim's quarters, Jim and the other two Ultras stood back, as a holographic image of Zoffy rematerialized before them.

"Garrison member Zenith. Once you have received this message, Mebius and Hikari would have joined you in the reality that you are in, as well as my agreement. You are right, no race should have to be sacrificed, no matter what the reason." Jim smiled at this openly, while Zoffy continued. "I have sent these two for a couple of reasons. The first, is to aide you in your endeavors in this reality, and the other, is to collect as much information as possible on these people. I'm not doubting your reports, far from it. Rather, I feel the need to get a second, and third, opinion to sway the council's mind. I think it may be hopeless, but, as you well know, we never give up in the face of any adversary. I wish you luck in this assignment, and before you ask, yes, this does mean that your previous assignment has been terminated, in favor of the new one of preserving this race. May the Light of Ultra always shine down on you." As the holograph faded, Jim couldn't help but smile ear to ear. It worked, Zoffy was on his side now. That means, that the Ultra Brothers will be backing him up as well. And he feels that he'll need it, in the near future. He looked to Mirai, and Serizawa, before shouting "YATTA!" The other two Ultras smiled openly.

"This is it! The first step! With you guys here, and the Ultra Brothers backing us, he have a chance now!" Jim said excitedly.

"We agree with you, nii-san. Zoffy came to us, just shortly after hearing of the meeting between the council, and Lillith, regarding your own conversation with her." Mirai said. Jim remembers that conversation well. "He found us, and told us to aide you in any way that we possibly can. Also, when the time comes, which he believes it will, us Brothers, as well as the Garrison, will support you all the way." he finalized. Jim nodded in agreement.

"There's so much to do. We need to find you two disguises, and then, arhgg, this is all happening at once." he said, collapsing into his chair. Now that he knows that Zoffy and the rest will support him, now what? They will have to brush up on study of the Lylat System, and quick. But, how? They can't really stay here. But he can't throw them out, either.

"Don't worry, nii-san." Mirai assured. "We will do, what we always do when we face a new race; hid just outside of their system, and gather intelligence the old fashioned way. And then, once enough information has been gathered, we will head down there, disguised as them and gather as much Intel as we possibly can. Remember, that's how Zoffy and Taro trained us." Jim felt relieved. Of course, that would be the way for them to gather information. And also, they'll be able to help eachother on the side, whenever they needed it. He just hopes that, his teammates won't wise up to the previous mission that he was assigned. If they thought him unleashing Gorzul was bad, then this one would probably make them think of him as a traitor.

"Alright, we have a plan. Let's see if we can't execute it." Jim said, standing up. The two Ultras nodded. They converted to their Ultra forms, and teleported out of the room, and into space. After turning into balls of light, they flew off into space. Jim made his way to the door, but was stopped short by Krystal standing in the door-way. She had a rather determined look on her face, and Jim knew what that meant.

"What else are you hiding from us? What is really going on here?" she demanded.

"What happens between me and my superiors is my business, and mine alone." he stated plainly.

"Not anymore. Jim, you don't need to hide anything from us. You can tell us."

"No I can't. Not this time."

"Why not?" she asked, folding her arms across her chest, her brow furrowing.

"Because if I did, then all of you will be put in more danger than now."

"From Gorzul?" she asked. Jim leaned in close, and whispered into her ear "There are worse monsters out there than Gorzul, I assure you." The way he said it, was almost akin to a threat. He made his way past her, and she stood there, frozen to the spot, wondering what all her 'close friend' was hiding.


	26. The New Threat

Chapter 26

The New Threat

It was beautiful. The sudden quickness, the looks of surprise on their faces, the pitiful attempts at a counter-offensive ending in failure, it was art to him. Kaza-Miin gazed out of the main-screen of his flag-ship, and smiled. Since the two invaders went to Earth to dispatch Zenith, he had the pleasure of taking the Lylat System. His one regret, was that it was so short, lasting for only a few hours. They effectively cut off communications, preventing them from sending a message to anyone outside, and swept over them. They fought bravely, as would anyone defending his homeland from an invader, but the outcome was never in doubt. Now, as his fleet is passing the remains of the Cornerian Cruisers that his armada had shredded, he gazed at the blue world in front of him, his heart full on the idea of conquest. However, his plan would hit a little snag. Coming into the system from Earth, Hikari and Mebius stopped just short of Corneria, and saw the advancing armada bearing down on the otherwise defenseless world.

"Nii-san, we have to do something!" Mebius said, turning to the blue Ultra. Hikari nodded in agreement, and both Ultras charged. Mebius let loose his Mebium Shot, and it tore through several of Kaza-Miin's forces. Hikari did the same thing, and both gold and blue beams sliced through the enemy fleet, destroying anything in their paths. Kaza-Miin saw the two Ultras, and his revelry turned to shock.

"Who are those two?" he shouted. From behind him, Claire walked up, and saw the other two Ultras. When she did, she shared Kaza-Miin's surprise as well. The ebony-clad figure was ignorant of almost all of the Ultras, save for Zenith, but Claire recognized them right away.

"Impossible. Why are those two here?" she asks out loud.

"Do you know them?" he asks, more calmly.

"I know of them. They are called Mebius and Hikari." she stated. They watched the two Ultras tear through the armada, the ships trying to retaliate, but failing.

"How did they get here?" Kaza-Miin asked.

"The same way that Zenith, Babalu, and Faust did. Knowing this, it is probably a safe bet that both of them have met their end as well."

"But, they had six monsters in between them." the armored-clad figure said. Claire chuckled, and said "You need to brush up on your knowledge of the Ultra. These two are not just some rookie warriors, they were responsible for the defeat of Empera Seijin."

"Am I supposed to be impressed?" he scoffed.

"Empera Seijin was responsible for a war that broke out in their universe a millennia ago. He returned, and, after defeating the best he threw at them, which was some of the most impressive figures in the Ultraverse, Mebius and Hikari managed to bring down the late Mighty Emperor. Even if you are un-familiar with their exploits, it would be fatally foolish to underestimate them." Claire said, matter-of-factly. The ebony armored figure watched the fight in growing interest.

"Do we still have their communications cut off?" he asked.

"Yessir. There is no way for them to get a signal out." one of the bridge operators said.

"That won't work. They have means of summoning reinforcements that you can't imagine." Claire said.

"Then what do we do?" he asked. Claire seemed to consider, then answered; "We must retreat for now. We were caught off-guard, and we will lose the armada at this rate." she stated. Kaza-Miin didn't like this, but watching the Ultras tear through the armada proved her right in the end. The order was given, and the ships retreated back into space. Mebius and Hikari watched as the armada was retreating. They looked at eachother, than back at the retreating ships. It was then they decided to contact Zenith.

Great Fox, in orbit around the Earth: Jim was in the 'rec room, switching from channel to channel. After Krystal's little episode, where she caught part of his conversation with Mirai and Serizawa, Jim thought it best to avoid the blue vixen for a bit. At least, until things have cooled down. The aforementioned vixen was in her room, trying to meditate. Trying, but unable to shake off the words that rung in her ears.

'There are worse monsters than Gorzul, I assure you.' The sentence had been on her mind for the past few hours, and she just could not get it out. What had he meant by that? Is there some other force at work that wishes to do us harm? Why does he keep hiding things from us? These questions ring through her mind, no matter what. Frustrated, she got up, and headed for the 'rec room. She found Jim sitting on the sofa in front of the view screen. He was pretty much asleep from boredom when she came in. She crept up behind him, and placed her arms on the head of the sofa, looking at him.

'Jim, what are you hiding from us? From me?' she wondered. Krystal turned off the screen, and exited the room. Jim stirred, and sat up, feeling a familiar presence. He looked at the door, and thought 'Krystal, I'm so sorry.'

In the command head, Fox and Slippy were busy at the controls, when one of the consoles went off. Slippy went to it, and turned in fox's direction.

"Fox, the long-range scanners just picked up something."

"What did they pick up?" Fox asked.

"Not sure, but…wait, I think I can get a visual." The main view-screen flickered to life, and showed something that they had never seen before; in the blackness of space, strange letters or words were shimmering in the darkness.

"Can we translate that?" Fox asked.

"Already trying, but the U.T. can't identify them." Slippy responded. Just then, Jim walked into the room, without them noticing. He heard what they were saying, and saw the lettering.

"There is no way for you to translate that." he said calmly. Fox and Slippy turned to Jim, surprise evident on their faces.

"Do you know what that is?" Fox asked. Jim nodded.

"It is the language of the Ultras. Someone is summoning me to come to Corneria."

"You mean, those two that were here earlier?" Fox asked.

"Most likely." Jim responded. He was about to leave, when Fox stopped him.

"Is there anything else that you would like to tell us?" he asked.

"Like what?" Jim replied.

"Like maybe, what it was that you conversed with your friends."

"What goes on between me and my race, stays between me and my race. And I will appreciate it if you would just mind your own business." he said irritatedly. He stormed out, while Fox looked suspiciously in his direction. Jim went to the hangars, and saw Falco, Peppy, and ROB working on the arwings. They looked back, and called to Jim.

"Hey, where you off to?" Falco called.

"Important business!" Jim called back, waving. He converted to Ultraman Zenith, and flew off.

"Somehow, I don't think I'll ever get used to that." Peppy said. Falco nodded in agreement. Fox came into the hangar just after Jim had left.

"Did he leave already?" he asked. Peppy and Falco nodded, and Fox went back to the command head. He set coordinates for Corneria, and prayed that the Great Fox was faster than an Ultra.

Lylat System: It took mere minutes for Zenith to travel all the way from Earth to Corneria. Orbiting the planet, he saw the two red and blue Ultras waiting for him, and they did not bear good news. After they told him about the armada, Zenith cursed himself for a fool.

"I should've known that those two were part of a larger scheme." he growled, remembering Faust and Babalu.

"the one silver lining is that we were here when we were. Thanks to us, whoever that was, was unable to reach this planet." Mebius said.

"Yes, but, the needless deaths. If I had stayed here, like I promised myself, this would not have happened."

"No, what would have happened instead, was the Star Fox team and co. getting slaughtered by those two, and their army." Hikari pointed out. Zenith wanted to say something, but held it, knowing that the older warrior had a point. He simply looked at him, and nodded.

"Did you see where they were off to?" Zenith asked. Hikari pointed in the direction of the armada.

"They went there, I think. Also, there is a planet there, on the other side of this system. We did a little reconnaissance before showing up on Earth. We know that this system has twelve planets, and the one farthest from the binary stars is covered with deserts, and a poisonous, smoggy atmosphere." Zenith knew that it could only be one planet.

"Venom." he said aloud. Venom was the planet that Andross was banished to. That was also where he built his army and armada, and went on a mad campaign to dominate the Lylat system, and proclaim himself emperor. Why would the armada head there, unless…

"How long ago did they leave?" Zenith asked.

"A half hour ago." Mebius replied. After that, Zenith sped off after the armada, with Mebius and Hikari following right behind him.

"Nii-san, what's wrong?" Mebius asked.

"I have a feeling I know who that armada belongs to." Zenith said. He told them about Andross, and how he was defeated by Star Fox.

"You think that this is the same guy?" Hikari asked.

"We'll know soon enough." Zenith replied. The trio sped on.

Near Venom: Kaza-Miin was unhappy. He made this point known in his mannerism, his tone, and the way he spoke to others. He was told that, should everything not go according to plan, that he would have to head for the farthest planet in the system, and regroup for another attack. He had a whole armada at his disposal, and an army to take control of the entire system. The only thing standing in his way, were the Ultras that suddenly showed up unexpected. Their little blitzkrieg had taken him by surprise and unawares, allowing them to do some serious damage to his armada. He paced back and forth, while Claire simply watched from the corner, watching the ebony-clad figure like a hawk.

"How? How could everything, when they were going so well, suddenly take this…disastrous turn of events?" he asked, spitting the word 'disastrous'.

"The humans had a saying, before you destroyed them." Claire said. The armored figure turned to look at her.

"Life's a bitch." she said, smirking.

"I have no time for your lewd comments right now, girl. I need someway to dispose of those three, before Gorzul learns of my mistake!" he said, rather anxiously.

"Relax. If he told you to come to this planet, it means that he planned for your little set-back in advance." Claire reasoned. Kaza-Miin only looked at her, as if she'd lost her mind.

"If he planned for this, then why not come here and take the system himself?" he asked. Claire only shrugged. "Maybe he doesn't want to get his hands dirty. Either way, we need to plan our next move."

"Fine, but what should we do from here?" Kaza-Miin asked, ceasing his pacing.

"I suggest splitting up our forces. Break into two or three groups, and head for different parts of the system." the female lupine said. Kaza-Miin seemed to consider this, but his decision was made for him when an alarm sounded. Both figures turned to the source of the noise, and the main view-screen activated, showing three figures headed right for them. Kaza-Miin's jaw clenched, while Claire kept hers stoic.

"Looks like we will have to implement your little idea, girl." Kaza-Miin said, with a hint of disdain. "Order all forces to separate into three groups, and to head for different parts of the system, until I order otherwise!" he barked. At his command, the armada split into three segments, the remainder of the fourty odd fleet breaking into groups, And each group went a separate direction from the other. When the three Ultras arrived, they witnessed the last group warping to some unknown destination, and vanishing.

"DAMMIT!" Zenith cursed. "We lost 'em!"

"Another time, nii-san." Mebius consoled. Hikari merely gazed at the direction that they left in, while Zenith did the same.

"So, what now?" Mebius asked.

"We should head back to Corneria. If I know my friends, they'll be at the planet by now." Zenith said. With that, the three Warriors of Light sped off for the blue and green world.

Corneria, at that time: In orbit around Corneria, Great Fox hovered in waiting, waiting for the latest member to return from his business with his associates. Fox, Slippy, and Peppy were busy on the control head, running systems diagnostics and updating the ship's onboard systems. It wasn't long before the long-range scanner detected something.

"Fox, I think Jim's back." Slippy said.

"Sure it isn't just another ship, Slip?" Peppy asked.

"Pretty sure, given the size, and that the scanners can't identify it." the amphibian replied. Just then, the main view-screen activated and three Ultras were headed in their direction. The Three of them looked up, and watched in anticipation. The Ultras shrunk to man-size, and entered the docking bay. They were greeted by Fox, Slippy and Peppy just shortly after landing. The Ultras reverted to their human forms, and stepped towards the three anthros.

"Fox, we got a problem." Jim said.

"Really, what?"

"Mirai can fill you in." After that, the young Japanese told Fox of the invasion force that they had encountered, chased, and had scattered before they could destroy it. Fox cursed under his breath, while Peppy had a grave expression.

"Great. First giant monsters, then evil clones, now this." Fox said. "Looks like this Gorzul of yours is getting serious about the Lylat System. But, why? Why would he want this system so badly that he'd want to resort to drastic measures?" Jim shrugged.

"Either way, we need to find that armada, and take it out before it can try to wipe out Corneria again." Peppy said. "Do you think that your two friends can help us out here, Jim?"

"No problem, Peppy-san." Mirai said, clenching a fist to emphasize his point. The older hare nodded in agreement.

"We need to tell general Pepper this." Fox said. The group made their way to the briefing room, and called the good general. In moments, the image of the general's head was floating in front of them.

"General, we have a situation here." Fox started.

"We know. The armada tore through our Space Defense Force like they weren't there. It was through sheer good fortune that we were saved by those two others. Were they Ultras?" General Pepper asked.

"We are, General Pepper-san." Mirai said, coming up to the holographic projection of the blood hound and followed by Serizawa. The general studied them for a moment, then nodded at them.

"We appreciate your help very much. If it wasn't for you two, we probably would not have survived." Pepper said in earnest. "However, the problem remains. We need to find that armada, and take it out. A fleet that big can't hide for very long, especially in the Lylat system. We should be hearing word about it soon."

"Not if they split up." Jim said to himself.

"Pardon?" Pepper asked. Jim faced the hologram.

"When I linked up with Mirai and Serizawa, we followed the fleet to Venom, where it split into three groups. Undoubtedly, they plan to flank us."

"This is bad. We need to find them, all of them, and put a stop to this now." General Pepper signed off, leaving the room silent, until Fox spoke up.

"Alright. We know what we need to do. Mirai, Serizawa, you know where the groups were headed?"

"We don't know exactly where, McCloud-san, but we do know the direction that they went in." Serizawa said. Fox nodded, and the group made their way to the command head. Fox Brought up the map of the Lylat system.

"Can you tell us where they split up at?" Fox asked. Serizawa pointed at the planet furthest from the binary stars, Venom.

"Okay. Now, tell us in which directions that they went in." Serizawa and Mirai went to the console that Fox motioned them over to, and they input the necessary data. After a while, three lines went from Venom, to Katina, Sauria, and Meteo. Fox saw the data, and nodded slightly.

"Alright. We have our targets, so what do we do know?"

"We split up." Jim said. All eyes were on him.

"Are you sure that is wise?" Peppy asked.

"We can cover much more ground this way. We need to find them as soon as possible, before they can target Corneria again."

"But, nii-san, how should we split up?" Mirai asked. Jim thought for a moment. Mirai and Serizawa weren't nearly savvy enough to navigate the Lylat system. They'll need some help.

"Alright. Here's how I think it should work; Fox, you and Slippy go with Mirai to Katina. You said that you had a friend there on the base, right?"

"Yeah, I do."

"Good, that makes it easier. Serizawa, you'll head with Falco and Peppy to Meteo. You'll be relying on his expert pilot skills, although he can be a little temperamental."

"What about you?" Slippy asked.

"Since we've both been to the planet before, I think that me and Krystal should go." Jim said, folding his arms. Fox nodded in agreement.

"Okay, let's brief everyone else, and get ready." Fox said. Afterwards, Jim was on his way to Krystal's room. He knocked on the door, and waited to be invited in.

"It's open." he heard a slightly British accent sounded. He walked in, and saw Krystal smile at him.

"Hello, Jim." The blue vixen said. She was slipping on her blue flight suit when he came in. She was just about done, when she turned to face him. "What do you need?"

"there's been an…incident." Jim said. He told her about the armada that Mebius and Hikari had encountered, and how it split up into three segments, and how he and her will be headed for Sauria again.

"Good choice." she said, still smiling slightly.

"I can feel that you are still a bit…peeved about earlier." she laughed.

"Peeved? About what?"

"About how you wanted to know more about my 'secret', and my not willing to relent." he stated plainly. Krystal paused, then looked down a bit. She did feel that he shouldn't have to hide from her anymore. But, on the other hand, she knew that they had no right to invade his privacy like that.

"I'm sorry. I shouldn't have barged in on you like that. You are entitled to your own privacy. It's just, I wish you wouldn't hide things from me. You know that you can tell me anything, right? Remember when you told me about your past. I didn't judge you then, and I won't now." Jim heard this from her, and felt moved.

'If only that were true, Krystal. But, my true purpose here, will make you not love me anymore. What my mission here is, will make me a traitor to you.' he thought, but simply smiled and said "I know. But, my superiors prefer the secrecy. It makes them feel more comfortable."

"Alright. I promise not to butt-in anymore." she said. Jim nodded, while she embraced him, while Jim returned it. He felt her soft fur against his face, and thought it softer than velvet. He held her softly, while thinking 'I pray that, you'll remain ignorant about my mission. Only then, will you be spared the pain.' He thought this, while holding the only person that truly mattered to him.


	27. Close Encounter

Chapter 27

Close Encounter

They neared Katina airspace. Fox and Slippy in their arwings, escorted by Mebius in his human size, approached the arid planet, as an escort of Cornerian Fighters rushed out to greet them. Among them, is a pilot Fox knows all too well. Bill Grey, leader of the Bulldog Unit, commed his headset to the team.

"Star Fox team, this is Bill Grey. Surrender, or be destroyed."

"You and what army, Bill? I think it was me who had to save you guys last time." Fox retorted. Both of them were grinning broadly. Mebius, however, missed the joke, and took a fighting stance between the fighters.

'Easy, Mirai, he doesn't mean it.' Fox thinks. Mebius picks this up, and nods, lowering his guard. Bill Grey, and his four fighters, hover in front of the Ultra, not sure what to make of him. 'Is this the team's newest member? I've heard rumors and all, but…' Bill was cut off from his train of thought by his head-set going off.

"So, are you going to take us in, or what?" Fox asks, still smirking.

"Is this…..him?" Bill asked. Fox looked at Mebius, and returned the message.

"Actually….it's a long story. How about over some food, we can fill you in?"

"Uh, yeah sure." Bill shrugs. Soon, the seven ships, and one Ultra, head for the planet. Inside the atmosphere, the land was mostly desert, with some patches of vegetation here and there, even some savannahs and prairies. The Katina base, which is a large, pyramid-shaped structure with several buildings around and a barrier, was looming ever closer with each passing moment. When they entered the barrier, the eight of them entered a port in the side of the pyramid, and the fighters landed. When the pilots exited the fighters, they looked to Mebius. The red and silver Ultra floated to the floor of the hangar, and looked at the anthros before him. The five Cornerian Fighter pilots, who were one bulldog, and four German Sheppard's, gazed at the alien being with awe, and wonder, especially Bill Grey. The bulldog anthro was rooted to the spot by the presence of the Ultra. Mebius reverted to his human form of Mirai Hibino. The young man looked at them with a friendly smile, and this disarmed them a bit.

"Fox, is this him? Is this the new guy that we have heard about?" Bill asked.

"Not exactly. This one is a friend of sorts to our own guy." Fox said, looking at the Bulldog's expression. He couldn't help but chuckle at him. Then again, he had the same face when he saw Jim in his Ultra form for the first time.

"A….friend." Bill said. "How many of them are there?" he asked.

"So far, only three of them are here in Lylat." Fox said. Bill turned to look at his old friend.

"Well, don't just stand there like an ar-tard, say hello." Fox said, smirking and gesturing to the human-looking alien. Bill stepped towards the alien, his hand outstretched.

"My name's Bill Grey." he said plainly. Mirai bowed deeply, saying "Konichuwa, Bill Grey-san. I am Mirai Hibino." He came out of his bow, and smiled at the bulldog. Bill didn't know how to react, his hand still outstretched. Mirai took it, and Fox stifled a laugh.

"Yes, well uh, shall we?" Bill asked, gesturing to the corridor leading out of the hangar. The group passed several fighters being maintained, refueled and re-armed for patrols. All of this reminded Mirai of his time on Earth, as a member of the team Crew GUYS. He looked at all of the anthros working on the fighters, and going to and fro in between stations. More than once, he found himself turning around to take in everything. The hangar itself was spacious, holding at least two dozen fighter craft. All of them had either a bulldog, or a husky painted on them, signifying that they were part of the famous Husky and Bulldog Units. And their leader, Bill Grey, was probably as famous as Fox himself. Fox and Bill had known eachother since early childhood. Both had an affinity to flying. It was even Bill who encouraged fox to join the Academy with him at an early age. However, fate would see them part, Fox leading a mercenary team, while Bill lead a military unit. During the Lylat War, It was Bulldog and Husky Units that held their own against an assault from the mad ape Andross. However, while the Cornerian Fighter was superior to the Invader II fighters, that were used against them, performance wise, the enemy made up for it with superior numbers. Fortunately, help arrived in the form of the Star Fox team. After a long hard battle, the defenders were able to repel the invasion force. Not only that, but Bill Grey himself went to the star Solar to aide Fox in destroying a bio-weapon. As the group made their way down the corridor, the various military personnel that passed by greeted Bill and co., but stared at Mirai, like he was some sort of alien monster. One soldier, a Labrador retriever in a green uniform, was carrying a bundle of supplies, didn't look where he was going, and bumped into the young man, dropping everything.

"I'm so sorry! I couldn't see in front of me!" he panicky stated, but froze when he saw Mirai.

"That is fine. Here, I'll help you." the young man said, squatting down and picking up the various items. Getting over his stupor, the soldier knelt down as well, and began to pick up. After a few moments, he had everything in his arms again.

"thank you, mister…"

"Mirai will do."

"Well, thank you, mister Mirai. I had better get going now."

"Sure. What's your name, by the way?"

"It's Collins." the lab said, and went his way. After some time, the group came to the mess-hall, where several soldiers were seated at various round tables, eating, conversing, and going over reports.

"Uh, does he… I don't know, eat?" Bill asked, stopping abruptly. Fox smiled broadly.

"As far as I know." Fox said, in a shrugging, amused way. Bill looked at Mirai, and groaned slightly. They made their way to the counter with a window and a chef inside. Grey ordered eight of the meal-of-the-day orders, and in moments, several trays came out of a port next to the counter, with food on them. The group got their trays and headed for an empty table. The eight of them sat down, and fox told Bill everything he knew about the Ultras, which is pretty much what Jim had told him several months ago. Bill took all of this in, while Mirai filled in some of the blanks that Fox was unable to fill himself. After a while, Bill was still absorbing the information, including the fact that a hostile force was seen headed in this direction. Mirai was conversing with the other soldiers. Normally, he'd be disguising his true identity, but in light of recent events, he decided to tell them about himself a bit more. He told them about he was a young warrior who was going to prove himself that he had what it takes to be the best there is. However, his first time on Earth was not a very jovial one, since in his first fight, he nearly destroyed a city trying to take down a giant monster. However, he joined the defense group at the time in his human guise, and had learned how to better deal with the monster crisis that the Earth was facing once more. He told them about the teammates that he once had there; the commander Shiko Sakumizo, Teppei Kuze, the knowledgeable information-source gatherer, George Ikaruga, a Spanish/Japanese descent, and the team's sharp-shooter and ace pilot, Konomi Amagai, a sweet young woman, who was a field operator, Marina Kazama, the female ace pilot of the group, and Ryu Aihara, the field captain. It was Aihara in particular that Mirai developed a close relationship with. At first, the young man blamed himself for failing to protect his former teammates from the first monster to appear on Earth in over twenty years of peace. However, he had grown to overcome this, and when Mebius showed who he really was halfway through his term on Earth, it brought them closer together, knowing that an Ultra was fighting side-by-side with them on, literally, the same team, gave them new confidence in themselves. Mirai told the anthros about his time spent on Earth in his reality, and how he picked out the new members of the Crew GUYS team in Japan. How, after countless battles, the team had became something akin to a family of sorts. How George was a star Soccer player, how Marina was a motorcross racer, Konomi was a school teacher, and Teppei was a doctor, as well as an inheritor of his family's fortune. All this and more he told them. The group listened intently, taking it in.

"So, basically, you influenced all of those people's lives, making them come together. Not only that, but they also served as your source of strength. When you felt like you couldn't go on, they were right beside you, weren't they?" Fox said. Mirai nodded in agreement. Fox remembered something similar to what Jim had said, only a couple of days ago, how the Ultras were 'mortal deities', and how even normal people can triumph where the Ultras had failed to overcome. Hearing Mirai's experiences only cemented what Jim had told him. After they were finished eating, Bill showed them to their quarters. Mirai was staying in a rather spacious room, with a bed, desk, chair, and view screen, same as everyone else. Bill said he wanted to discuss something with Fox, and as soon as they were alone, he told him what was bothering him.

"Are you so sure that we can trust them. I've heard reports and rumors about what your guy can do. Needless to say, I'm concerned about this." Bill said, leaning on the bed's frame. Fox sat in front of him in the computer chair.

"I had the same thing going through my mind when I first saw Jim for what he really is. However, over time, I had grown to trust him. He's even in a relationship with Krystal, I think." Fox said, amused at the thought of him and the blue-furred vixen together.

"Krystal, you mean the new girl? The one you picked up from Sauria?" Bill asked. Fox just nodded. "Well, how about that? How serious do you think it is?"

"Nothing really noteworthy, but who knows. It's really been just a comment here, or a gesture there, at least, as far as I've seen." Fox said. Bill shrugged. There was a pause, as Bill chose his next words.

"So, how's Fara doin'?" he asked.

"Good, actually. She wishes that we could see eachother more than we have, but it can't be helped, not with everything going on right now." Fox sighed, then, something occurred to him. "You know, it's weird. First, Krystal sees Jim for the first time, then she just asks him to join us, right out of the blue, no questions asked. And since then, the two have become almost inseparable. Like, they were made for eachother, or something."

"A match made in heaven, eh? That's life for ya, I guess." Bill said.

"No, I think it's more than that. They act as though, they've been friends since before they met. Like they've….known eachother before…"

"Where'd you get that idea?" Bill asked. Fox told him about how he'd been possessed by a demonic alien entity nine months ago. The same alien entity had been able to possess everyone else, except for one person.

"Krystal?" Bill asked.

"Yep. I don't know how, but for some reason or other, the Dark Breed was unable to possess her."

"How do you know that?"

"My body may have been possessed, but I was able to see almost everything, and I share a rapport with her as well. When Jim came on board for the first time, the thing almost went crazy with fear and rage, as if it had to destroy him before anything happens."

"Well, it did happen. Your new member is part of a race that is more highly evolved than we can imagine." Bill said, shaking his head.

"Not only that, but Krystal felt it as well. Through the rapport that we share, I felt that she felt a great sense of safety from him. Not only that, but, they slept in the same bed that night as well." Fox said, rather uneasily.

"WHAT? How the hell do you know that?" Bill shouted.

"Again, I share a rapport with her." Fox said calmly.

"Okay, that aside, did they do….anything?" Bill asked.

"No. She merely went to him for comfort. But that's the weird thing, though. Why would she seek the comfort of a complete stranger that she met only recently? Why would she so readily accept him, and trust him?"

"Maybe because she was able to feel that he was an Ultra." Bill reasoned.

"Maybe. But still, I don't know. I think there's something else going on here. Also, here's something else as well; I think these guys are up to something."

"How do you figure that?"

"When Mirai and the other one appeared and reported to Jim, they were about to converse in something big. I say 'big', as in 'they don't want anyone to know' kinda big. Also, when we tried to pry any information out of him about the matter, or about the Ultras in general, he just clams up, and won't say anything."

"Well, what did you expect? He received special instructions from his superiors. He can't just come forth with the information just like that." Bill said. "Still, do you think that they need watching?" Fox thought for a moment, then answered.

"I feel like I'm making the same mistake, when I took Jim's Spacium Brace so he couldn't transform. I don't like it, but, I think that this time, we need to keep a close eye on them." Bill nodded in agreement.

Mirai was in his room, flipping through various channels on his screen. He couldn't help but notice the distinct similarities between Earth's technology and culture, and that of the Lylat's inhabitants. When he first saw the Lylat's inhabitants for the first time, he was more than a little shocked at first. Seeing a two legged fox that could talk was a bit of a shock to his system, as well as seeing every other animal that existed on Earth walk on two legs and speak the tongue of man. Although, Mirai did admit at seeing stranger things before in his life, but this caught him off guard. Now, he sees why Zenith is trying so hard to protect these people. In a way, he envies him, since he's in direct contact with a race that they have never seen before, and never before had any experience with. Zenith, in a way, is like an ambassador for the Ultras, meeting and experiencing a whole new culture and race. Mirai smiles to himself at the thought. 'You're very lucky, Zenith nii-san. Most warriors would give their Light, just to spend one day with these people. No wonder you want to protect them so badly. Well, you're not alone in your endeavors. And, I'm sure that Hikari would say the same.' Mirai feels lucky himself to experience this as well, and hopes to spend just a bit more time here.

Just outside of Katina's airspace: The third of the armada that attacked Corneria had stopped just above Katina. Its purpose, to destroy the military bases on the planet, before they could send aide to Corneria and overwhelm them. They had received specific instructions from Kaza-Miin, and will fulfill their mission faithfully, or face the ultimate consequence. The group of ships sank in low, followed by an assault carrier, holding several scores of fighters. The ships were cloaked. That is, cloaked from all sorts of scanners and detection devices, except for one that they had failed to anticipate; Mirai felt the evil disturbance, and bolted upright from his chair. He looked out of the window, at nothing. However, even in his human form, Mirai Hibino still has certain Ultra abilities at his disposal, including the X-Ray/Infrared vision ability that he frequently uses to detect unseen foes. He sees them clear as day, and springs out of the door, nearly knocking over the hapless soldier in front of him as he dashes madly down the hall to Fox's door. After he practically pounds on it, the red-furred vulpine opens it to see an anxious Mirai.

"What's wrong?" he asked.

"The enemy, they're here! I've felt them." he said, almost breathlessly. Bill, who was across from Fox, was awoken from the noise and poked his head out, sleep still apparent in his eyes.

"What's all the noise?" he asked groggily.

"The armada is here! We need to engage them!" Mirai said, turning to the half-asleep bulldog.

"Impossible. If any ships were near here, the alarm would've gone off, the instant that they entered our airspace." Bill argued. Mirai turned to Fox.

"Please, McCloud-san! The enemy is here, and they are going to attack! Please, believe me!" he pleaded. Fox thought for a moment. Then made his decision. He closed the door, and Mirai had a discouraged look about his face, until Fox popped out moments later in his flight gear.

"Fox, you cannot be serious!" Bill said.

"Bill, I've learned that, nine times out of ten, these guys are usually right. If Mirai says that an invasion force is headed here, we had better go and greet our uninvited guests." Fox replied, flashing a canine smile to Mirai, who smiled in return. Bill grumbled, and went back in, and came out in his own flight uniform.

"I swear, if I'm being punked in some way, I will throw _both_ of you in the prison cells downstairs, get me?" he asked, irritated. Both vulpine and Ultra nodded. Soon, two arwings, a dozen Cornerian fighters, and one human-sized red and silver Ultra, were flying to where the Mirai said he had seen the ships enter orbit.

"Well, I hate to say it, but I got nothing guys." Slippy said. Fox also read the same thing, as did everyone else in the squadron. Only Mebius remained stoic. How could they not see what was right in front of them? Then, Mebius's eyes flashed, and twin beams of light shot out. Then, in the direction of the beams, several dozen ships came just appeared in front of them. Fox's and the other's jaws dropped as an enemy group of ships just materialized out of no where. Then, having been discovered, the largest of the group discharged its fighters. Soon, dozens and dozens of small fighter craft swarmed the squadron. The group had barely enough time to react when the onslaught came. The arwings peeled off, and selected their targets, and the Cornerian fighters dissolved the squadron to engage in individual dog-fights. Mebius let loose his Mebium Shot at the fighters, sending a good portion of the fighters to the ground as smoldering wreckage. Though outnumbered, the veteran pilots out-flew the enemy fighters with ridiculous ease, making it seem like that the pilots were merely cannon fodder. Also, having an Ultra on your side would be an unfair advantage, in any fight. Then, the reinforcements came. The enemy fighters had their ranks bolstered, and attacked en force. Mebius fought back, is Mebium Shot taking down many of the enemy fighters, but not seeming to make a dent in their numbers. Then, he saw a Cornerian Fighter get shot down. He used his enhanced vision, and saw Collin's fighter plummet down. He increased his size, and caught the fighter in his hand. Collins looked up at the face of the ultra, and felt a familiar presence. "Mirai?" he asked. Mebius set the fighter down, and looked up at the incoming horde.

"McCloud-san, tell everyone to keep back." Mebius telepathically told Fox. Fox relayed the message to Bill, who begrudgingly did so, as did Slippy. That's when Mebius decided to use his Mebium Shot. His Brace glowed, and he placed his hand over it. Then, he shot his arms out, crucifix style. He brought his arms over his head, energy dancing around them, and the infinity symbol glowing between them. Then, he placed his arms in a plus-shape, and the powerful golden beam issued forth. Before, in his human size, the Mebium Shot was deadly, shredding anything in its path. Now, in his normal fourty-meter size, the beam incinerated anything in its way. The fighters were turned to ashes when the beam hit them. By the dozens, the horde was reduced to nothing more than a bad memory. When the last fighter was destroyed, Mebius lowered his arms, and gazed up at the ten-odd fleet. The others could only stare at the Ultra in awe.

"Hey, Fox?"

"Yeah Bill?"

"Remind me to never get on this guy's bad side." Bill said. Fox laughed. Then, something came out of the main carrier. It dropped in front of Mebius, who took his combat stance against the potential threat. Then, out of the dust that it had created, was a sight that he had never expected.

"Imperaizer?" Mebius almost shouted. Indeed, the same robot that he had faced when he was in the Ultraverse was coming out of the smoke, its steel-grey, large body lumbering towards him. It had a hunched-like stance, its arms looked small in comparison, ending in mitten-like hands. Its head was little more than three lenses meeting eachother, with insect-like mandibles underneath. On its shoulders, were large cannons, and its eyes glowed with yellow energy as it lumbered towards the Ultra, growling mechanically. Mebius was the first to act; he jumped at the machine, and executed a flying kick. The attack landed, and made the machine stumble back, but that was it. It growled mechanically, and lashed out with one of its large arms. Mebius evaded it by back-flipping, and jump-kicked it in the head. Then, Mebius threw several punches into its mid-section, making it back away more. Then, Imperaizer fired its shoulder cannons at the Ultra. Mebius brought up his barrier, and the blasts were soundly repelled. Then, it fired its beam from its triple lenses, and the beam shattered, knocking Mebius back. Fox and the others decided to act. The Arwings fired their nova bombs at the robot, and the Cornerian Fighters did strafing runs at it. The assault caught the machine off-guard, and allowed Mebius to catch his second wind. Mebius lunged at Imperaizer, and both tumbled back with Mebius on top. He rained down blow after blow, but his punches were not doing any real damage. Then, its three lenses glowed again, and it fired its beam weapon. The attack caught the Ultra right in the chest, and sent him back, yelling in pain. Mebius landed on the ground, hard. When he struggled to his feet, the warning light on his chest was flashing red. That's when he decided to end the fight; he called upon the same power he used to defeat it last time. His brace flashed again, and his whole body appeared to be engulfed in flames. And when the flames dissipated, he was in his stronger Burning Brave mode.

"McCloud-san! Keep back!" Fox looked, and saw him charging his Mebium Burst. He didn't need to be told twice. He and the other fighters backed off, and the Ultra let loose the powerful fire-ball at the robot. In seconds, it was incinerated into nothingness.

"ALRIGHT! Nice shot!" Slippy cheered. Fox sighed in relief, as did Bill. Mebius looked up at the group of ships, and did the same thing to them, that he did to the Imperaizer. He unleashed his Mebium Burst, and the group of ships were vaporized. He looked up, and flew away. The squadron flew back to Katina base, where they got a pleasant surprise; Mirai was already there, waiting for them. The young man was smiling broadly as the pilots got out of their fighters, and made their way towards him.

"Nice work out there, Mirai." Fox said with a grin.

"THAT WAS AWESOME! You totally vaporized them! Do you know what kind of power you would have to do that to-"

"Slippy! I think he gets the point." Fox said, patting the amphibian on the head. Mirai laughed at this, and turned to Bill Grey.

"Well, I'll say this much. That was close. Without you, I don't think we would've made it."

"I can say the same form you. Despite my power, I don't think that I would've been able to handle all of them all by myself." Mebius said. Bill couldn't say anything, and just nodded solemnly. Fox remembered again that was almost exactly what Jim had said to him before. When Star Fox left the planet, Mebius couldn't help but notice another similarity. That between Bill Grey, and a certain Ryu Aihara. Inwardly, while Mebius was still in his Ultra form, flying beside Fox and Slippy, he smiled at the thought.


	28. True Blue

Chapter 28

True Blue

He didn't like it. Going into known enemy territory like this was just asking for trouble. On top of an alien super-being from Planet X, well, what else could go wrong? These thoughts were swimming through Falco's mind as he stared at the view screen on the Great Fox. The team split up on Jim's advice, with Mirai and Fox headed for Katina, Jim and Krystal headed for Sauria, and Serizawa and Falco headed for Meteo. However, one thing nagged at the avian's brain; 'Why the hell did I get stuck with METEO?' It was well known that the Sargasso Space Station, which was nestled in the asteroid belt, was a haven for criminals, especially for Star Wolf, Star Fox's archrivals. And a while back, they had a nasty run-in with them. When Jim first joined the team, he had his first sortie with them. And, like Star Fox, the mercs got their hands on a new pilot as well, to equal out the balance of power. Fortunately, this guy was green, and mortal, unlike Jim. However, there was only one capable pilot left after the break-up. Peppy was here, but he was getting on in years, and probably couldn't handle the strain of getting inside of a cockpit again. And Serizawa, well, he probably hasn't even been inside of a cockpit, period. He's an alien with superpowers, so why would he? Serizawa was standing in front of the avian, looking out into space through the viewer. He looked lost in space, until he spoke up.

"It has been awhile, since I last stepped foot inside of a vessel to carry me from place to place, rather than fly there by my own means. It almost seems…luxurious in a way." The middle-aged man turned to face the blue falcon, who gave him a quizzical look. "I'm told that, you are the ace pilot of the team."

"Yeah. What of it?" Falco asked, raising a feathered eye-brow.

"Nothing, my young friend. It's just, I remember that age, when I wasn't always an Ultra."

"You mean, you weren't always like…this?" Falco asked, puzzled. Peppy, who had been working at a different console, turned to hear the middle-aged man. Serizawa nodded, and told them about his past; He was once the captain of the GUYS Crew, before it fell before the hands of a monster called Dinozaur. Only he, and one other survived, a Ryu Aihara. The young member did not know this, but Serizawa was saved by an Ultra, named Hikari. At that moment, to save the man's life, he combined his life-force with the human's.

"Wait, wait, I thought that Ultras were only capable of impersonating other beings, not…wear one like a suit." Falco interrupted.

"True, while they do have the means of having human forms, they also are able to combine with others, to save them. And, in turn, the host is used as a vessel for the Ultra. A sort of….Avatar if you will."

"If that's true, then that means that you are human like Jim is." Peppy said. Serizawa chuckled in an amused way.

"No, I'm afraid that Zenith, or Jim as you call him, is more Ultra than human at this point. True, like me, he is an Ultra hybrid, but was brought on by different circumstances. Because of this, he is slowly turning more and more into an Ultra."

"But, I thought he was already an Ultra." Falco said.

"Yes, but remember, he was combined with an Ultra as an infant, not as an adult, remember?" Peppy said. Falco shrugged nonchalantly as Serizawa continued.

"The Ultra that combined with me, was not exactly like the heroes that you were told by Jim. Hikari was….troubled to say the least."

"How so?" Peppy asked. Serizawa told them that, at one point, Hikari was a brilliant scientist of the Ultra race. One day, he went to the planet known as Arb. It was a peaceful world, where war and strife were but a distant memory to the inhabitants. Even when viewed from space, the planet looked like a pearl in space. Its nickname was, unsurprisingly, 'The Miracle Planet.' When Hikari touched down on Arb, he expected to find an advanced civilization, possibly rivaling that of the Ultras. However, when he landed, what he saw were green fields with crystals coming out of the grass. However, the crystals _were_ the inhabitants, as they floated up in front of him, and they spoke to him as a collective. They told him that they had evolved to this state of peace and bliss, and how the whole planet was one entity, and how they had heard of the legendary Space Garrison and the Ultra Brothers, who kept the peace throughout the Ultraverse. They asked Hikari if he were one of them, on account of his serene heart like theirs, and his appearance. Hikari told them that he didn't have that kind of power in him, and that he would like to remain on Arb for the rest of his life, studying them and living with the inhabitants. Arb told him that it was not to be, for the end of Arb was near. Hikari asked them if there was something that he could do. Arb could only tell them, that a hero would descend from the heavens, and become as one with the soil of Arb. This, is the prophecy of Tsurugi. Hikari said that he will become this hero, and departs for a distant world, where he heard of a certain entity is supposed to dwell. There, on the arid surface, he finds floating land masses, and on one, he sees a cloaked figure, almost as if he were waiting for him. The figure asked who he was, and Hikari answered that, he was told that a super being with the ability to make the impossible a reality lived here. Hikari asked if he could see him, but the figure said that, he might not be able to, on account of his heart. Then, a storm appeared, and the figure told him that it is a reflection of Hikari's pure heart. Hikari told him that, he would not become addicted to power, to use his power to protect innocent people. Then, the figure challenged him to calm the raging storm around them. With the rain lashing his body, and the wind tearing at him, Hikari remembered the time he had spent on Arb, the peace, and the serenity. With that in his heart, he used his will to calm the storm, and the sun shone once more. When the last of the storm clouds had dissipated, he found that the figure had disappeared, to make way for the very person he had come to see; Walking towards him with his mantle swirling behind him, his silver body gleaming in the sunlight, was Ultraman King.

"Wait….Ultraman…'King'?" Falco asked, his eyebrow raised in puzzlement. Serizawa nodded.

"He's the ruler of the Ultra race, said to be hundreds of thousands of years old. He has had many different names on many worlds. However, the one that we know him by, is the same one that us humans had given him; Ultraman King. King told him that he was impressed by Hikari's pure heart, and gave him the Knight Brace, telling him that he will need it in the future. However, Hikari was in for a rude surprise; An alien entity had already invaded Arb, and was destroying the planet. The creature was known as Bogul, the Devourer of Life. Many planets had already fallen to her hunger, and Arb was in its path. Angered by the loss of life, Hikari went mad with rage. King told him to not lash out in anger, but Hikari would not listen. After fighting a losing battle, he scared Bogul away, but not before it could accomplish its goal; Arb, the once beautiful, serene planet, was reduced to a wasteland, incapable of supporting life. Anguished over not being able to protect Arb, he fell victim to the restless souls of Arb, and they gave their power to Hikari, turning him into Hunter Knight Tsurugi. Their power was in the form of a suit of armor, that gave Hikari advanced protection and strength."

"Isn't that the same armor we saw you wear on Earth?" Peppy asked Serizawa nodded, remembering how on Earth, he and Mebius saved Zenith from Faust and Babalu and their monster army. After he donned the armor, called the armor of vengeance, he went to Earth, which was Bogul's next target. There, he ran into Mebius. Hikari was consumed by rage, but Mebius was able to calm his soul, and convinced him to let go of his rage and need for vengeance. Ultimately, Hikari sacrificed himself to save Mebius and to exact his revenge on Bogul. However, he was resurrected by Mother of Ultra, who is head of the Silver Cross corp. Eventually, Hikari would regain the armor again, but this is after he encountered Babalu on the remains of Arb.

"Now Babalu's in this?" Falco asked, and Peppy raised his eyebrows in surprise.

"I know how it sounds. When we last encountered him on Earth, in the Ultraverse, he was impersonating as Tsurugi. However, we were able to defeat him, for what we thought would be the final time. However, evil has a way of repeating itself I guess. When we had heard that Babalu was sighted and engaged by Zenith in this reality, I had feared the worst. But, Zenith has proven time and again to be a formidable foe. Hopefully, we have seen the last of Babalu and Faust." Just then, an alarm went off, and caught the attention of the three people. Peppy went to it, and saw that an unidentified ship was approaching them. Falco went to it, and moaned an audible "Oh, no." He recognized that type of ship. And when it entered the view-screen range, his heart only sunk when he saw it; it was pink in color, and round with two stabilizers on top and bottom. The wings were inverted to allow better speed and maneuverability, and the cockpit stuck out in front. It was the Cat's Paw, and it belonged to only one person.

"Great Fox, this is the Cat's Paw, request permission to dock." Said a purring female voice. Peppy was about to answer, when Falco pulled him aside.

"Forget it, she's not coming here."

"Falco, we may need her help on this one. She may know what it is that we are looking for."

"We're looking for an enemy fleet, one that's too big to hide for very long."

"However, she may know something that we don't. It'd be better than us just stumbling around in the dark, and falling prey to an ambush." Peppy reasoned. Serizawa listened intently, wondering who it is that Falco desperately wants away from the ship. Exhasperated, Falco relents, and brings up the comm to the fighter-sized craft.

"Cat's Paw, this is the Great Fox. You have….permission to land." Falco got out rather distastefully.

"Thanks, Falco." the voice purred again. Moments later, the pink craft docked in the hangar of Great Fox, and the pilot hopped out. Serizawa was there, and he was surprised by who it was; he was expecting it to be an anthro, but not one that has pink fur. It was a female, pink-furred cat in a flightsuit that showed off her curves. Her tail flowed behind her, and her face was a light cream color, while the rest of her head was pink. She cast her green eyes to Falco, who turned away.

"Well, glad to know that you haven't changed much, Falco." the feline said. She turned to Peppy, who smiled slightly. "Peppy, you're in good health."

"why, thank you, Katt. It's good to see you as well." then Katt turned to Serizawa, and her eyes widened.

"You must be the new member. I expected you to be younger, but the description is accurate. A bit rugged looking, but I like men like that." Serizawa turned a puzzled glance at Peppy and Falco. Peppy chuckled, while Falco only scoffed.

"I'm afraid that, you're a bit off there, Katt. This is actually a friend of our guy. Katt, this is Serizawa, Serizawa, Katt Monroe." Peppy said, gesturing to each person. Katt held out her hand, and Serizawa took it.

"Well, can he at least do the things that I've heard about?"

"What exactly have you heard about?" Falco asked, turning to face Katt for the first time.

"Like, how he can turn into a red and silver alien, capable of tearing apart a battle cruiser with his bare hands."

"Well, you're right except for one thing." Serizawa said.

"And what's that?" she asked, turning an amused glance at the older man.

"I'm not red and silver." he said, returning the smile. Katt's face went from amused to puzzled, while Serizawa kept his slight grin. The quartet made their way to the command head, where Katt asked where the others were.

"You know about a large fleet that was seen near Venom, right?" Peppy asked.

"You mean the armada, right. When I heard about it, the person who passed that on thought that Andross had returned to seek his revenge from beyond the grave, or something. However, we all know that Fox offed two years ago, right?"

"That's what we thought. However, our boy thinks something different. Right now, we are dealing with some sort of inter-dimensional maniac who seems to be really interested in the Lylat System." Peppy said, taking up his position in the bridge.

"Reaaally? And uh, what do you know about it?" she asked, turning a glance to Serizawa.

"All I know, is that the entity that Peppy refers to, is called Gorzul. How it was able to get its hands on an armada, we don't know. We thought we had it sealed away, when something happened."

"So, we are dealing with a power-hungry maniac from your plane of reality, and he has his sights set upon our happy little system for reasons that are, as of yet, to be known, right?" Katt asked, not taking her eyes off of the older man.

"That's what we are up against."

"So, where do we begin?" she asked.

"The armada that me, Mebius and Zenith had encountered at Venom dispersed itself in three directions. Mebius went with Fox to the world you call Katina, whereas Zenith went with the girl you know as Krystal to Sauria."

"Wait, who went with Krystal, as in the new girl Krystal?" Katt asked, a mischievous grin playing on her feline features.

"The new guy." Falco said. Katt laughed out loud.

"So, since she got rejected by Fox, she looked to better game, did she? Hah!" Katt clapped her hands once in triumph. Serizawa looked to Falco, who merely shrugged. "So, what do you need me here for, then?" she asked.

"'Need you here for'? We didn't call for you, you just showed up." Falco said.

"Not entirely true." Peppy said. All eyes were on the elder hare. "I sent out a signal for her, when I saw that her ship was in range." he said. Falco gaped, while Katt turned to the avian, a triumphant smile on. "I figured that, since she's been here the longest out of all of us, she would know what to look for."

"An excellent idea, Peppy. Probably better than what bird-brain had in mind, right? Let me guess, his plan was to go in, guns blazing, and hopefully not get killed in the progress, right?" Katt asked. Peppy nodded slightly, and Katt laughed out loud again. "You never change, you know that Falco?"

"Are you gonna help us, or am I gonna hafta toss you out of an airlock?" he asked, turning a glare to Katt.

"You, and whose army, Falco?" she asked, returning the glare, but having a predatory grin. Serizawa turned to Peppy, his face asking 'Is this normal for them?' Peppy simply shrugged, while wearing a slight smile. "Anywho, I know what it is that you are looking for, and I may be able to help you." she said. Serizawa turned to her.

"Really? It is imperative that we find them before they hurt anyone else." the man said.

"For a guy with better manners than my fine feathered friend over there, how can I possibly resist?" she asked, casting a slightly seductive glance at the older man. Serizawa looked away in slight embarrassment, and Katt chuckled slightly, while Falco simply grunted in disapprovement. "Okay, I know where they were last spotted, but there is a slight problem."

"Oh, yeah? What's that?" Falco asked.

"Sargasso is right in the path. That's what." Katt said.

"Great. On top of a fleet of warships, we'll have to deal with the entire criminal population of the Lylat System." Falco said.

"Is there a way around them?" Serizawa asked.

"Unfortunately….no." Katt said, but perked up a bit. "But, there may be a bit of good news; Last time I checked, just before running into you guys, I heard that Sargasso had engaged your little fleet. With any luck, both sides will kill eachother off, and end of both problems, right?" she asked.

"Not really. That fleet could probably plow its way through that station if it wanted to." Serizawa said.

"And how would you know?" Falco asked. "You don't really know much about our criminals here, do you. Not even the Cornerian Fleet comes out this far, because of how dense the defensive fire can get when these guys are crossed."

"True, but I know that these guys have a secret weapon on board somewhere, which could probably handle something like that." Serizawa said.

"Okay, again, how do you know that?" Falco asked.

"Because, I know how these guys work. What they'll do, is send in the grunts first, to test the enemy. Then, should they survive that onslaught, that's when they'll send out the secret weapon. Normally, it'll be a bio-weapon, or a mechanical construct. But almost always, it'll be something big, mean, and made for destruction and death."

"Like, a monster, right?" Falco asked, bemused. Serizawa nodded at him, and he laughed out loud. "Okay, just back up here, buddy. I know that we have been fighting monsters and what not for awhile now, but don't you think that you are being a little bit paranoid here?"

"And what makes you say that?" Serizawa asked.

"Because I'm getting sick and tired of fighting monsters!" the avian shouted. "Every time that we do this, it's either some giant, slobbering beast, or evil alien that's the size of a freakin' sky-scraper, and I'm getting tired of it!"

"I realize your weariness from all of this, but fighting monster is my job." Serizawa stated plainly. "Peppy, set a course for the fleet. Let's see what kind of damage they had done." With that, Serizawa left the three of them alone. Katt looked in the direction that he had gone, a grin on her features.

"I wouldn't." Falco warned. She turned to him. "You're not his type." he said, grinning slightly. Katt scoffed, and left to check on her ship. Falco chuckled slightly, and turned back to his station. Peppy did likewise, and set the Great Fox in the direction of the Sargasso Station.

Katt was right about one thing; Sargasso did engage the enemy fleet. Or rather, they engaged something. Something that left scattered remains of dead ships and fighters everywhere. And the station itself, literally torn apart, the pieces and chunks floating every which way, with dead bodies floating near and inside of them. When the Great Fox was in sight of it, Falco and Peppy felt their hearts sink, Katt's eyes widened in shock, while Serizawa remained stoic.

"Looks like I was right. Now, it's up to us to stop them." the human/Ultra hybrid said.

"You must be kidding! You mind telling us what can tear its way through a station full of armed men like that?" Falco shouted.

"Any number of things, Falco. None of which are particularly pleasant." Serizawa said. "Even so, I have dealt with something like this before."

"Oh, really? Wait, let me guess, It was something, big, bad, and has a sunny disposition, right? 'Cause that's exactly what looks like tore its way through!" Falco shouted sarcastically. Serizawa shot him a look, while he got ribbed by Katt.

"Sarcasm aside, I have dealt with this type of thing before. Just let me handle that thing, while you people handle the fleet. Believe me, you don't want to take on what I'll be fighting." Serizawa said.

"Why's that? Don't think we can handle it?" Falco asked.

"That's exactly why." Serizawa said. Now, Falco was fuming.

"Listen, pal, I'm not sure if you've heard, but this is our system here. We are the good guys here, we blow the bad guys up, you're just the back-up from the Ultra world, or wherever the hell it is you guys come from." Falco said. Serizawa's eyes narrowed, and Falco got another elbow in his ribs from Katt. This time, a bit harder. Falco looked at her, while Katt glared at him. Serizawa stormed out, leaving the couple to argue amongst themselves. Peppy sighed, and went after the older man. He caught him in the hallway, and confronted him.

"Look, I suppose that I should apologize for Falco. He's not really used to feeling like second best by guys like you. It's always been us who's had to save the system, till you guys showed up. Ever since Jim showed up, it's always been him who's had to save everyone, leaving us in the dust. I know that you've probably heard this before, but I don't want you to grow any hard feelings for us."

"Don't worry, Peppy-san. As you have said, I am used to it. Falco, in a way, has a right to act like that. It has always been Star Fox who had to save everyone. We have no right to take that from you, nor would we ever try to take that from you. I have read the reports that Zenith has sent to his superiors, and I must say, they are exemplary. They remind me of the native races that I have worked with."

"Including the humans native to the Ultraverse?" the hare asked. Serizawa nodded.

"That's the main reason why we are here. Our race has never encountered a species quite like yours before. We are here to, well,…."

"Study us?" Peppy finished with a slight smile on his face. Serizawa was caught a little bit off guard by this."

"Well, I wouldn't call it studying. More like.. examining you." the man said.

"Ohh, I see." Peppy finished, chuckling as he did so. "Well, at least it means that, we are not alone in this battle."

"No Peppy-san, you are not." Serizawa said, returning the smile. "By the way, what is the relationship between Falco and Katt, If I may ask." Peppy laughed, and told him. Before he joined Star Fox, Falco was a member of a gang called the Hot Rodders. There, he had a relationship with the female member Katt. When he left to join Star Fox, needless to say, he ruffled her feathers a bit, and its been that way ever since.

"I see. So that's why they seem that they can't stand eachother." Serizawa said.

"Mm-hm. However, she did help out in the Lylat Wars. Katt was there on Zoness, when we took out one of Andross's factories, and also in Sector Z, when we fell into an ambush."

"Really? Then, they still have feelings for eachother, then."

"I guess so. I just don't get young people these days." Peppy said, holding his head in a tired expression. Serizawa laughed at this.

"Let's head back. I'm sure that they need someone to separate them, before they tear the ship apart."

"Think that you can handle it?" Peppy asked, still grinning.

"They're just young people. I've survived worse. Take the young guy who worked under me for example. He's the new captain of Crew GUYS now, but back then, he was a real handful." he said, his arm draped over Peppy's shoulders as the two walked back to the command head. Once they got there, Falco and Katt were done going at each other's throats, and were sitting at opposite sides of eachother. Peppy and Serizawa smiled slightly at one another, and went to different consoles. However, it wasn't long before the real enemy made itself known. In moments of leaving the remains of Sargasso, the enemy armada was spotted. The fifteen or so fleet was directly ahead of them. They hadn't been spotted yet, so they had the element of surprise. At least, that's what it seemed at first.

"Okay, let's sneak right up on them, and take them out unawares." Falco said.

"I don't think that it'll be that easy." Serizawa said.

"Don't jinx it man. We need this to go perfectly." Falco said, turning to the older man.

"Falco, in my line of work, there's no such thing as anything going perfectly." Just then, the alarm went off, and smaller craft began to pour out of the larger ships.

"I told you not to jinx it, man! Now we have to deal with all of those!" Falco shouted at Serizawa. The older man merely shrugged, and turned back to the screen. The fighter craft neared the Great Fox, and when he turned, Falco was already out the door. Katt turned to him, her look expecting.

"What?" he asked.

"Isn't there something that you should be doing right now?" she asked.

"I was going to let you and Falco assess the situation first, before getting involved. That's the way my kind has always done things."

"Oh, I see. So, you really are the back-up then." she replied, smirking. Serizawa returned it.

"I prefer the term 'cavalry'." he replied. Katt rushed out of the room, to her own craft. Serizawa looked after her, then turned his attention to the horde. Rather, he wasn't looking at the horde, but what laid within the ships.

Falco launched his arwing, accompanied by Katt. The Cat's Paw twirled once, showing off its own version of the barrel roll, its pilot hoping that a certain avian would notice. Falco looked, and shook his head, wondering why he was cursed to have to be bugged by her. Then, they came. The enemy fighters converged on them almost like a flood. Although outnumbered hundreds to two, the two pilots were far from incapable; Falco didn't get the name of Star Fox's ace for nothing, as he dodged and weaved through enemy fire, and sent emerald volleys of his own at the swarm, downing any fighter unlucky enough to be in his path. Katt was holding her own pretty well, juking and weaving trough the incoming fighters and their fire. Her own barrel roll worked the same as Falco's, repelling the laser fire by creating a magnetic field. The red bolts were deflected off of the wings every time the two rolled. However, whereas the fighters lacked in performance, they made up for it with sheer numbers. Soon, the two pilots would tire, and then, the swarm would have them. However, that seemed to be a ways off yet, since enemy craft were falling by the dozen at the rate Falco and Katt were going. Both of their laser fire were downing fighters at an incredible rate, not to mention, the nova bombs that both sent off would take out several fighters at once. Both of them flew side by side, as if by reflex, due to years of flying beside eachother in the gang before Falco left. So natural, that they hadn't really noticed. However, one might say that they were too good, for their own good. Beneath one of the larger ships, a port opened. At that moment, Serizawa's eyes widened, as he recognized that presence. Out of the bay, something launched. It was big, saucer shaped, and headed for the two pilots blasting away at incoming fighters. Then, they saw it; it was like a giant saucer, having a red visor-shaped screen on the front of it, two dorsal fins on top, and a blue, jewel-like object on the top. It fired purple blasts of energy from the visor, but the pair were able to dodge them with ease. However, they noticed that the fighters had backed off, making room for the newest entry.

"What's that?" Katt asked.

"Must be the 'secret weapon' that Serizawa was talking about." Falco said. Falco fired at it, only to have the emerald bolts bounce off of it harmlessly. Then the thing retaliated with firepower of its own, the purple blasts missing the craft, but barely. Katt and Falco attacked in sync, hoping that their combined firepower would find a weakness, but no such luck. Then, they tried the nova bombs. These had a bit more success than the lasers, since the two bombs knocked it off of its flight path, and in an out of control spin.

"Alright, we got it!" Falco cheered. Katt let out a whoop of her own. However, Serizawa and Peppy on the Great Fox were not celebrating. Serizawa tensed up, knowing full well what will happen next. He turned to Peppy, and the hare nodded at him. Then, the man left the bridge. He got to the hangar, and placed his fist over his heart. There, in a flash of golden light, his Knight Brace had appeared. The top part of the Brace had been extended. Serizawa placed his had on the top part, which flashed, and golden energy zigzagged around it. He pressed it down, the top part clicking into place, and his form was bathed in a golden brilliance. Outside, the pair were still celebrating their apparent victory, but not for long; the saucer had recovered, and floated in front of them. Then, it did something unexpected; two arms and legs sprouted from underneath, creating a muscular, and armored body underneath the saucer. Then, a mouth appeared underneath the saucer, and it issued a mechanical shriek. They recovered from their shock, and attacked the new threat with the same dose as before, but to no avail. The monster merely batted the bombs away, where they exploded harmlessly. Falco turned to see the new terror begin to shoot more of the energy blasts from its visor, and throw them from its hands as well, hoping to hit them. These were more accurate than before, with the two craft just barely evading them. 'At this rate, it will only be a matter of time before…' Just then, a blue beam of light hit the monster, and it halted its attack. Then, a blue ball of luminescence floated between the monster, and the two fighters. Then, the sphere took the form of Ultraman Hikari, the blue Warrior of Light taking a combat stance against the monster. Falco looked on in awe as he recognized the Ultra, and Katt stared at him. "Well, now I see what you mean by 'not being red and silver'." she said, amused.

"You two take care of the fleet. Roberger is mine." Hikari told them, telepathically. The two pilots nodded, and engaged the fleet. Then, Hikari drop-kicked Roberger in the face, and sent the monster shrieking in dismay through space. It recovered, and pursued the Warrior of Light. The two traded blows, neither being able to get the upper hand on the other. Then, Roberger landed a fist in Hikari's gut, making the Ultra double over, then connected a cross to his face, sending him flying back. Hikari crashed into a meteor, and flew out of the way, barely out of his opponent's way as Roberger crashed itself into the meteor itself. The monster recovered, and turned its gaze back to Hikari. The Warrior of Light landed on a large chunk of rock, and Roberger followed suit. Then, the two duked it out. Hikari came in with a high kick, but the monster blocked it, grabbing the Ultra's leg. However, Hikari countered with a spin kick to its face, making it fall back, and releasing his leg. Roberger got back up, and rushed at Hikari, who cartwheeled out of the way. Then, Roberger sent several of his blasts Hikari's way, who effortlessly evaded them. Hikari got back up, and sent his Ultra Light Stream at the monster, the blue beam colliding with Roberger, and sending it back several hundred meters, before coming to a stop. Roberger continued to get blasted, however, Hikari could not keep the beam up indefinitely. Soon, he had to let the beam, down. He did, and he fell to a knee, panting. His warning light was flashing a steady red. Roberger got up, uneasily, and faced the Ultra. It rushed at him, but two nova bombs fired in front of it made it stop in its tracks. Hikari looked up, and saw Katt and Falco in their crafts, giving him a salute. Hikari nodded at them, and he stood back up. He raised his right hand to the sky, and the same crystalline ball of light descended upon him. When it made contact with him, there was a brilliant flash of light that blinded all within the area. When it dissipated, what stood before Roberger was a whole new sight; clad in his new Armor of Heroes, Ultraman Hikari became the new Hunter Knight Tsurugi. The armor-clad Ultra raised a clenched fist at Roberger, daring him to come forth. Katt and Falco looked on. Katt had a look of awe on her feline face, while Falco's remained partially stoic, as he knew what would come next. Tsurugi swung his right arm in front, and extended his Blade. The golden blade glowed in the darkness of space, and he charged forward. Tsurugi swung his blade, but Roberger evaded the swings, but barely. However, it knew that it couldn't evade that deadly blade for very long. Tsurugi went for an overhead swing, but Roberger blocked it with its armored forearms, however, the blade bit through the armor. When Roberger forced the Ultra off of him, there were two gashes in its armored arms. It shrieked in displeasure, and ran at Hikari. It swung with its fists, hoping to land a blow, however, its blows were soundly repelled by the thick armor that Tsurugi had. Roberger went for a cross, but this was soundly repelled too. Then it turned tail, and tried to run. However, Tsurugi had other plans; He ran after Roberger, and sliced at the alien beast. It went through the midsection, cutting it in half. Tsurugi stopped a few paces ahead of Roberger, and he knew that Roberger's top half fell off cleanly. He turned, and saw that the legs were still standing, and that the top part was on the ground next to the legs, its eye dark. Then the beast exploded into millions of fragments. Tsurugi turned his attention to the fleet, which had begun its retreat. However, Tsurugi let loose another Ultra Light Beam, destroying all of the ships, turning the fleet into a bad memory. Katt applauded for the Ultra, while Falco looked sullen. Back on the Great Fox, Katt was getting ready to leave, but not before seeing Serizawa one last time. She gave him a peck on the cheek, and stepped back, grinning.

"I must say, I did not expect that from you, mister hero. Maybe, when you're not busy, you and I could hook up sometime." Serizawa blushed slightly, and turned away, not facing the feline. Katt laughed a bit at this, and turned to face Falco. "I guess I'll see ya around, Falco."

"Yeah, sure." Falco said. Katt said nothing, used to his response. She turned to Peppy, and said goodbye, and the hare returned it. Katt climbed into her Cat's Paw, and flew out of the hangar. Falco turned and left, feeling pretty much like he did when Jim recovered from his fight with Babalu, useless. Then, he was stopped by something he never expected.

"Thank you, Falco." Falco turned, and saw Serizawa smiling at him.

"Wh-what?" he stammered.

"I said thank you. For, saving me back there. If it wasn't for you and Katt, I'd probably be dead right now."

"Uhh, sure, no problem." Falco said. He turned, and left, but this time, a slight smile crept up his beak.


	29. A Traitor's Mission

Ch. 29

A Traitor's Mission

She felt it from him. She felt him hiding something from her, something important. She couldn't penetrate his mind, even if she wanted to. Over the nine months that Jim had been with Star Fox and became an Ultra, his natural mental defenses have increased by over ten times. Before, she could read him like a book. Then, a few months later, he was surprisingly hard to read. Then, a few weeks later, harder still, now, it was all but impossible to read him. In order for her to read his thoughts, he has to actually lower his mental guards consciously. Such mental protection was probably made possible due to the incredible evolution that his people went through, but that doesn't make it any easier. For once in her life, Krystal felt at a loss without the use of her telepathy to help her. She had grown rather dependant on it, and now, it can't help her with him. Jim and Krystal made planet fall on Sauria several hours prior. After receiving a hero's welcome (the natives still remembering what it was that the Ultra had done for them a few months ago), King Tricky gave them the same lodgings as before, when Fox confiscated his Spacium Brace. Now, evening was setting on the prehistoric landscape. Krystal was standing out on the balcony, clad in the same tribal outfit that she had worn before, overlooking the sunset with the last rays of the sun giving the sky a golden and orange color that she always found captivating, with purple clouds complementing it. However, she didn't feel all that captivated by it, her thoughts on something else. Her face had a faraway look, as she looked at the sun falling behind the jungle.

Jim was lying on the bed, looking up at the ceiling. He was wrestling with the nagging thought in his mind. He wanted desperately to tell her, to tell her everything. His true mission, what the Ultras really planned to do in this reality, how only he, his superior, and Hikari and Mebius may be the only ones who will fight for them. However, if he told her, the council will speed up their plans all the more faster. They used him for their own twisted plans, but he allowed it. He allowed it, because what they proposed seemed too good to be true. Now, he was wondering if it was truly worth it. He has spent a large portion of his time as an Ultra with them. He has come to see them as his second family, since the one on his Earth had been destroyed by Gorzul. It would now only be a matter of time before he caved in and told her everything. He felt that she deserved to know. More than anyone else, she deserved to know.

M78, at that time: "He's going to tell her." said one of the six council members. The male and female Ultras were clad in snow-white robes, floating around a glowing sphere in a large chamber. The sphere showed Jim, lying on the bed in the room on Sauria, in a whole other plane of existence. "We must step up our plans."

"But, we are not ready yet. We cannot guarantee that the relic is able to function properly." said one of the floating men.

"It will function properly, when powered by the same thing that gave us our power." said a deep female voice.

"You can't mean, the Plasma Spark?" said another man.

"Impossible. The Spark won't work for something that will be used for destruction. Its purpose is to give life, not to take it." said another.

"And it will give life. It will breathe life into the race that was long ago dead, brought to death by a horrible mistake. Now, that same child who made that same mistake, is atoning for that sin, by aiding us in bringing it back." the same woman said.

"But how? We know that he schemes against us. He will fight against us, and in the end, he will probably succeed in stopping us."

"Not if we act swiftly enough. We must speed up our plans, and implement our device, now." she said. She turned to a guard at the door. "Tell Kronos to enter." The guard saluted, and went out. Moments later, a large body entered. It was red and silver, like most Ultras, but it had a black stripe in the shape of a 'V' going across his chest. He was muscular, even among Ultras, his muscles showing off their definition. He stopped before the six floating Ultras, and bowed deeply, showing his respect.

"Honored council, to what do I owe the immense honor?" he asked in a booming voice.

"Kronos, even among the greatest of warriors, you are considered to be the mightiest of all." the deep-voiced woman said.

"You are far too kind." Kronos replied.

"Needless to say, you did not earn that reputation for nothing. We have need of your services. You are familiar with Zenith?"

"The traitorous son of Hayata?" Kronos asked.

"Yes. However, he is seeking atonement by aiding us in our great plan. You are aware of it, no doubt?"

"I am. I must say, such a noble endeavor."

"That may now be threatened by certain….persons."

"Do you wish me to root them out?" Kronos asked, flexing his muscles.

"Not quite. We wish for you to be our vanguard, should the time come. And believe you me, it will. Zenith is falling for one of the natives of that reality, and is twisting his mind further and further from our cause. This, of course, poses no real threat to us, but we would like you to go there, in advance, and make sure that he doesn't do anything stupid. I believe that you know the way?" she asked. Kronos nodded. "One more thing. Should Zenith try to impede you, in any way, you are authorized to terminate him." Once more the large Ultra nodded, and left. One of the men turned to her.

"Even so, he will tell her everything."

"But not right away. He will tell her, for now, just enough to tickle her little nose. Before he reveals everything, I will have her hate him. My daughter, will see to that."

Sauria, at that time: 'I will tell her. Not everything, not yet, but enough to give her an idea of what's really going on.' Jim got up off of the bed, and made his way beside Krystal. The blue-furred vixen was standing out on the balcony, staring at the sunset. Her face had a faraway look while she looked upon the gold and orange sky, meeting the green foliage below. Jim placed an arm around her shoulders. She placed her hand on his, and looked up at him.

"What's wrong?" she asked, seeing the concerned look on his face.

"I'm sorry." he said.

"About what?" she asked.

"Keeping things from you."

"It's fine. I know that your superiors told you that it is secret, but you don't have to feel bad about keeping it from me, if it is important."

"It is important. That is why….you of all people should know, for all that you've done for me." She gave him a puzzled look, and he continued.

"The real reason why I am here, is because certain forces are at work that wish to see your destruction."

"I know that. Gorzul is out there, and…"

"Not Gorzul."

"What?"

"The forces that I am speaking of, are not Gorzul's but something else. Gorzul is still a threat, but this new threat is a more imposing one than he is right now."

"Why is that?"

"Because, of how close they are to accomplishing their goal. There are two reasons why I am here; one is the one that you already know. The other is, because we believe there may be someone on the inside who may be conspiring against you."

"Conspiring against us? Who is against us? Jim, what are you talking about?" Krystal asked, more confused than ever.

"We don't know who it is that wants you people dead. It could be Gorzul, but we are not sure. All we know, is that they got their hands on something big."

"Like what?" Jim took in a deep breath, and told her.

"Before my race evolved into what it is now, they were at war with another people who had technology as advanced as theirs was. However, they were the ones who discovered the means to travel to and from dimensions. They planned on using this power, to shape all realities in their image. We evolved, just in time for them to implement their plan. Just before they could, the new Ultra race stopped them, but not before we lost most of our people. The race we fought against used a device to, not only travel through dimensions, but to also alter them."

"What do you mean by 'alter them'."

"Somehow, the device is able to rip the fabric of space, _and_ time as well. These people had the power to alter the time flow of any reality that they wished. If they were allowed to continue on their plan, they would cause irreparable damage to countless worlds, across the fabric of time and space. My race stopped them, but barely in time. The race destroyed itself with its own device, never to be the rulers that they dreamed to be. However, the relic remained. We thought we kept it under guard, but it was found gone from its resting place some time ago."

"So you think that, someone stole this device, to alter the fabric of time and space to their image."

"Yes."

"Why didn't you tell me?"

"We had reason to believe that the person or persons responsible have spies and scouts set up in different realities. Because of that, well, I couldn't just openly come forth with the information. My secondary mission here, is to try to root out the spy here, if there is one. For all I knew, you could've been it." he said, turning to her, smiling slightly. Krystal returned it.

"And, how do you know I'm not one?" she asked, snuggling up to him.

"You're too cute to be one, that's how I know." he replied. Krystal giggled, and placed a hand on the side of his face, resting her head on his shoulder. Finally, he was opening up to her.

"I'm glad for this. Very glad. You were afraid that I was a spy, and that telling me this would make me stop loving you?" She laughed again, and snuggled him. "That's just silly. I'll always love you. Now that you've told me, we can probably focus on this spy of yours."

"Actually, that may have to wait. We still have to focus on the fleet that was sighted near here, remember?"

"Of course. But, how do you know that it isn't Gorzul?"

"If it was Gorzul, he would've used it by now. It was found missing not too long ago, and they have every available warrior on the alert. What we don't know, is who really has it."

"We'll find it. I promise. Then, after that, who knows, right?"

"Right. Who knows." Jim said. He looked at the sunset. He told her part of the truth, but not all of it. Still, telling her this much made him feel better inside. However, his quiet moment with Krystal was interrupted by the very same reason he loathed coming here. There was a growing crowd just below the balcony of the native dinosaurs, mostly Lightfoot and Thorntails, and a few Earthwalkers, all congregating beneath them. They looked up, and they cheered for the 'Silver Hero'. Jim groaned an "Oh no." when he saw them, and Krystal smiled openly. Then, the cheering began. "Why? Why is it that every time we come here, they start this up?"

"Oh, come on. It's just a little bit of hero worship. I thought that Ultras were invincible." She gave him a side-long glance, and a smile crept along her vulpine features. "Don't tell me that's your secret weakness." she asked, in an amused tone. Jim gave her an incredulous look, and went back to the cheering crowd. Just then, he felt a slight wetness on his cheek, and saw, out of the corner of his eye, Krystal giving him a kiss on the cheek. The crowd saw this, and they cheered louder. Jim blushed at this, and Krystal pulled away, seeing how red he was. She smiled at him, and Jim looked away. The crowd continued to cheer, and Jim left the balcony. Krystal looked in the direction that he left, still smiling broadly. She followed after him, and embraced him from behind when he was inches from the bed. Both collapsed on it, with Krystal on top. She was laughing out loud as they fell, and cuddled him. Jim tried to shake her off, and succeeded. He pinned her down, and looked upon her face. Krystal looked up with piercing emerald eyes upon his steel grey. She was still smiling when he leaned in, both driven by some inner drive. Both are attracted together by forces that they cannot explain. Or rather, they can explain, they just don't exactly know how they fell in love. Jim's lips pressed against hers, and they shared a passionate kiss for the longest of moments. When Jim did break away, he looked down at her, and she smiled once more. He returned it, and kissed her again. Krystal felt her stomach flutter, a sensation that she hadn't felt since she was saved by Fox. And, she knows that she felt this sensation before, a long time ago. She doesn't know exactly when, only, that it was a lifetime ago. Jim nuzzled her, and she returned the gesture. They cuddled eachother, then, there was a knock at the door. Jim rose himself off of Krystal and said "Come in." A Lightfoot in a ceremonial robe entered the room, bowing low.

"Oh, great Silver Warrior, King Tricky asks for your audience tonight. He has kin visiting, and they would very much like to meet the legendary Warrior of Light." Jim groaned out loud, and said "We'll be there." The Lightfoot left, and Jim turned to face Krystal. She was propped up on one elbow, her smile big and wide.

"Well, shall we go and throw ourselves to the lions?" Jim asked. Krystal got up, and walked out with Jim, her arm on the small of his back. The kin that was visiting, was Tricky's wife's brother, along with his own mate and offspring. The three hatchlings romped around with Tricky's children, while the adults greeted eachother. When Jim and Krystal arrived, the pair focused on them. "So, this is the legendary 'Warrior of Light' that I have heard so much about. I have heard about what it was that you did here. Defeating the Galdon single handedly is no easy task. Then again, becoming a silver titan should make things a bit more manageable, shouldn't it?" the male ceratopsian asked, smiling broadly.

"If you only knew, my friend."

"Allow me to introduce myself. My name is Ruck. I am Kyra's sibling, and leader of the northern tribes."

"My name is James, member of the Space Garrison forces, and sent here to patrol this part of space." Jim replied, bowing slightly. After getting acquainted, Jim stole an opportunity to be with King Tricky for a bit. They were in a hallway, and the ceratopsian knew what was on his mind.

"I'm sorry, Jim, but we haven't heard anything about a fleet of ships descending to our world. I know that's what you came here for, but so far, everything has been quiet, as of late."

"That's good news to me, Tricky. It means that they haven't gotten here yet, or that they'll ignore your planet. Pray, it is the latter. I'd hate to make this world my new battle-ground."

"Nevertheless, we must go on like business as usual. My mate's brother has been after her to let him come and visit sometime. And with you here, I thought it would be the perfect excuse to have him here. He can be a little bit overbearing at times, but he's really a good person."

"Thanks for that, Tricky. Make sure that he's kept in the dark about what it is that we are really here for. The last thing we need is a panic on our hands."

"Okay. We'd better get back, or they might get suspicious."

"About what?"

"He's been known to get a little bit paranoid about things, that's all you need to know." The pair walked back to the main chamber, where Krystal and Kyra were entertaining their guests. When Ruck saw them return, he smiled at them. "I have heard of your endeavors so far in our system, as well as the famous bloodline that you ascend from." Jim wondered what he meant. He hadn't really told anyone that Hayata, one of the most famous of the Ultra Crusaders, was his father. Then again, Krystal was a telepath, and had an annoying habit of reading minds when it wasn't really wanted. He shot her a glare, and Krystal just smiled innocently. He turned back to Ruck, and smiled.

"That is correct. My father is a famous warrior on my world. Not only that, but is part of an elite group of warriors who protect the peace in their part of space."

"Tell us about them." Jim told him about the famous Ultra Brothers, consisting of Hayata, his father, Zoffy, his superior Ultraseven, Jack, Ace, Taro, Leo and his twin brother Astra, Eighty, and Mebius. He told them that, several millennia ago, a great war broke out on his homeworld. To prevent such a thing from happening again, an elite team was needed to keep the peace. And from then, the famous Ultra Brothers was born. Headed by the Father of Ultra, one of the ruling figures of the Ultra Race, the Ultra Brothers and the Space Garrison have kept the peace for thousands of years.

"Wait, you said _thousands_ of years?" Ruck asked, surprise evident in his voice. Jim nodded.

"So, how old are you then?" he asked. Jim merely smiled and said "You don't want to know." Jim told him how his father protected the Earth in his part of space, and was the very first Warrior of Light to appear. He fought many battles, but was finally felled by an extremely powerful opponent. "What was this opponent called?" Ruck asked. Jim answered with one name only. "Zetton." He let the name hang in the air for a bit before continuing. He told them how Zetton damaged his father's warning light, mortally wounding him. The humans were able to use their own weapons to destroy Zetton, but it seemed too late for Hayata. Then, Zoffy appeared to take the Ultra home with him. He separated him from his human host, so he could get proper care at the Land of Light. Ultimately, he would return to that Earth, and merge with his human host again to help protect the planet. But, there were already other warriors appearing to prove themselves. The latest to appear were Mebius and Hikari. They protected the Earth from the same evil that started the Ultra War. After the evil was destroyed, the Ultra Brothers ultimately left Earth to their own devices, confident that they could protect it themselves.

"I thought that Earth was destroyed." Kyra said.

"My Earth, not the Earth that they were on."

"How do you mean." Jim sighed, and stood up in front of them. He figured that the best way to tell them, was to show them. He raised his Brace to his heart, and it flashed a bright scarlet. The light was enough to make the people in the room shield their eyes for the moment. When the brilliance subsided, Ultraman Zenith was standing before them in his normal form. Ruck and his family stared in awe at the red and silver being, as did Tricky and his family, while Krystal was getting over her own shock. Zenith raised both of his arms over his head, hands outstretched. In between the hands, energy danced in electrical arcs, until his hands glowed with a blue luminescence. Then, he made a gesture of gently pushing his hands out towards them. "Don't worry, this will not hurt." he assured them in his distorted voice. A gentle stream of energy poured forth from his hands, and enveloped the ceratopsians and vixen. Suddenly, they found themselves in a shimmering red void. They looked about themselves, feeling panic rise up, especially Ruck. Then, out of the red haze, Zenith stepped towards them. "I will show you, where we really come from." he told them. Behind him, a part of the haze seemed to part, to reveal a shining planet. Krystal knew this to be the Land of Light. When the planet was viewed up close, they could see human-like people going about their daily lives. Then, the sky went dark, and the people looked up in surprise and fear. The sun was turning into a black-hole. Then, a citadel of sorts opened up its tip, and a shining light came forth, negating the effects of the black hole. The planet was once more bathed in light. However, what transpired next, none of the inhabitants could have guessed; the people were becoming beings of light, their forms becoming shimmering luminescence. Then, the change was completed when the light faded to reveal their bodies had become red and silver, some even blue and silver. They had become the Ultra race. Several thousand years went by, and a horned red and silver Ultra in a mantle, with a woman standing beside him, turned to face the group. Zenith knew this to be the Father and Mother of Ultra, two of the most powerful Ultras in the Land of Light. Then, the Father of Ultra spoke in a booming voice.

"Come forth, brave warriors! You, who have proven your worth to be part of the elite group of soldiers!" With that, the image shifted as the Ultra Brothers were shown; Commander Zoffy, with his Medals shining brightly on his chest as he executed his M87 beam, the most powerful beam on record. Then, Ultraman Hayata appeared, performing his famous Spacium Beam, similar to Jim's. Krystal saw at once the resemblance between him and Zenith. Both were similar, except for small differences, like Zenith's mouth-piece not being as broad as his father's, and his red and silver patterns slightly different from Hayata's. Next, was Ultraseven. The Crimson Ultra used his infamous Eye-slugger, the fin on his head actually coming off, and coming back onto his head like a boomerang. Then, Ultraman Jack appeared. He looked similar to Ultraman Hayata and Zenith, and Krystal wondered if the two were not related in some way. He raised his left arm, showing a type of bracelet, and took it off and threw it. It became imbued with energy, and like Seven's Eye-slugger, returned to its place like a boomerang. Ace appeared, and executed his powerful Metallium Beam, the multicolored beam searing anything in its way. Then, Taro, the legendary son of Father and Mother of Ultra themselves, appeared and fired his Storium Beam, the horned Ultra shouting 'Storium Kousen!" as he did so. Next, was Leo. He back flipped in front of them, and took a combat stance. Then, he leapt up, and did a flying kick, with his foot looking like it was on fire. Then, his brother Astra appeared, and the eldest stood behind Astra as he knelt down. Astra raised his arms up, and Leo thrusted his arm outward, his hands touching his brothers. All at once, a crimson lightning-bolt shaped beam erupted from them, the powerful Ultra Double Flash attack destroying virtually anything in its path. Then, Ultraman Eighty appeared, the famous teacher and warrior executing his Saxium Beam, this one also multicolored. Then, Mebius appeared, and fired his Mebium Shot along with Hikari firing his Knight Shot. The image shifted to the warriors fighting different opponents; Hayata engaged with the infamous Baltan Seijin, Ultraseven fighting the powerful King Joe robot, Jack fighting Knackle Seijin and his pet monster Black King, Ace fighting the monster Ace Killer, the same one that was made by the alien Yapool to destroy him. Taro was fighting the horror known as Tyrant, the monster being a conglomeration of different Kaiju. Leo was fighting Maguma Seijin and his pet Gilas monsters, with Eighty fighting the red monster known as Gora. Hikari and Mebius were fighting Dinozaur Reverse, and fired their finishing moves, destroying it completely.

"My race has defended not only Earth, but the whole universe as well. However, there is one thing that they were concerned about; invasion from another reality. To prevent such a thing, they sent several Ultras to different realities to act as a vanguard against a possible invasion." When Zenith said this, the image flickered to other Ultras; Tiga, Dyna, Gaia and Agul, Cosmos and Justice, Nexus, Max and Xenon. These and more were seen flying through what looked like a shimmering black-hole, which Krystal guessed to be the gateway to other universes. The image faded, and the group was brought back to the royal chambers. All of them looked as though they had awoken from a dream. However, upon seeing the Ultra standing before them, they knew that it was no dream, but rather, a memory. A memory from Zenith himself. The red and silver alien being was standing before them, and then, he reverted back to his human form of James Howards. He looked at them, and saw the look of surprise on their faces. He chuckled, expecting this. Even Krystal felt a little overwhelmed by what she experienced. However she noticed that, again, he was holding something back, something that he didn't want to show them. She thought she was imagining things and shrugged it off.

In orbit around Sauria: the fleet of ships was bearing down in the planet. The flagship was ahead of them. On its command bridge, was none other than Kaza-Miin himself. He stood on the deck, overlooking the screen that showed the planet. He smiled to himself, reveling in the thought of destroying the pesky Zenith himself. The girl, Claire had made herself scarce as of late. It didn't matter. He hadn't any real use for her anyway. Now, he can focus on atoning for the disgrace that he had to suffer through by the hands of this Ultra. He ordered the fighters be deployed to the surface, wiping out anything in their path. The two carriers that followed him complied, letting out their several squadrons each descend to the planet's surface. Kaza-Miin smiled at the sight.

On the surface of the planet, Jim was in the throne room, while the ceratopsians were talking amongst themselves. He felt his warning sense go off, and turned to the direction that it was being emanated. He ran out of the temple, with a concerned Krystal following close behind him. He looked up at the evening sky, searching for any sign of the disturbance. However, only a cloudless night with a full moon and stars were present. Krystal stood next to him, giving him a concerned look. "Do you feel that?" he asked, not turning to her. Krystal reached out with her sixth sense, and felt it as well; several thought patterns, all headed for this direction. She turned to Jim, a look of understanding present. Jim nodded at her. Krystal made her way to her arwing, while Jim stood still, rolling up his sleeve to reveal his Brace. Krystal hopped in, and started up her engines, and Jim converted to Ultraman Zenith. Both of them floated up to the enemy's location. Krystal was unable to see the fighters, but Zenith could remedy that; his oval-shaped eyes flashed, and twin beams of light came out. Like giant search-lights, they shone in a direction, and in an instant, the fighters were exposed. The pair wasted no time in attacking the exposed ships; Krystal let loose her fighter's laser fire, the emerald blasts taking down one fighter after another. While not as good as Falco, Krystal was a capable pilot and was able to hold her own in pretty much any situation. Seeing her like this, Zenith remembers why she is the only one in this universe that he truly knows to fear. Zenith fires his Spacium Beam at the incoming horde, the blue/white beam vaporizing all who came into contact with it. In seconds, the fighters were fighting a losing battle, unable to match the two combatants that they were up against, they mindlessly fought to the last man. Kaza-Miin watched all of this from his flagship, and felt his rage boiling over. He ordered his ships into orbit of the planet, and to bombard it with everything they have. The twenty ships entered the atmosphere, Zenith and Krystal watching them freefall into the atmosphere. Krystal remained stationary, while Zenith landed. Instantly, his form flashed crimson, and he was in his towering fourty meter height. Krystal hung behind the Ultra, waiting for him to make the first strike. He never got the chance. The ships unleashed all they had, the red laser bolts seeming to erupt everywhere from the fleet. And, the assault was aimed directly at them. Zenith brought up his barrier, the shimmering blue shield blocking and deflecting the blasts. Zenith lowered the shield when the assault faded. He turned back, looked at Krystal, and nodded. The blue furred vixen returned the gesture, smiling as she did so. Then, something unexpected happened; the flagship descended in front of them, and was hovering in front of Zenith, just a few hundred meters away. Then, a booming laugh was heard.

"Who are you?" Zenith asked in his distorted voice.

"My name is Kaza-Miin. I am the vanguard of the great Gorzul. My task is to prepare this system for the arrival of the mighty deity, so that he may rule this system for all of time, just as he shall soon will, with all of the universe!"

"I see. You're just a lackey then. Nothing more than an incompetent stooge, sent here to test my abilities! Well, looks like I passed your test. And if I know the other Ultras well enough, then the rest of your armada should be destroyed, leaving this paltry few left." Kaza-Miin burned at Zenith's comment. How dare he insult him thus. He will have to teach thus stripling warrior a lesson.

"Prepare for 'Deathfacer' configuration!" he shouted. As soon as he did, the operators stood up, revealing their true faces of metal and wire. The automatons had wires snake out of their backs, and plug into the consoles. Then, the room's walls closed in on them, with several entrances for the automatons to pass. When the machines were passed by the entrances of the walls, the entrances closed, and Kaza-Miin was left alone in an enclosed space. Then, in the middle of the room, a type of mechanism rose. It looked like the sleep-chamber used on ships for hibernation when traveling great distances. Kaza-Miin smiled on the inside, and his voice boomed to the Ultra. "You say that I am merely a lackey, a stooge with no competence. Well, I'll show you just what this 'stooge' can do!" With that said, the chamber glowed a brilliant glow.

Outside, Zenith and Krystal were greeted with an unexpected sight; the ship was transforming. The brick-shaped ship began to separate itself in small sections, each small piece moving to a different location changing the shape of the whole. Soon, arms and legs sprouted, and the thing landed. Then, a head-like protuberance was visible, revealing a black lens where the face should be. Then, the lens came to life with lights and shapes. The red lines showed what appeared to be a scowling face of some sort. Krystal was at a loss for words at what she saw, however, Zenith knew what the machine was; as far as Zenith knew, there was only one type of robot who could transform from a ship to a giant robot. That, was Deathfacer, the same robot that Dyna had faced. It had the same type of armament as the previous incarnation; a giant pincer-like claw on the right hand, and a gatling gun on the left. It was silver, with bits of red thrown in. "Where'd you get that Deathfacer, Kaza-Miin?" Zenith asked, pointing an accusing finger at the robot.

"Wouldn't you like to know?" the voice replied. Zenith got back into his combat stance, and braced himself. Krystal was floating beside him. She didn't know what good an arwing could be against something like that, but she was willing to fight beside someone whom she cared deeply about. Just then, she got a telepathic message from Jim.

'Listen closely. I will try to distract it. When I do, you have to aim for the face. It is the only vulnerable spot on it. Once it is blinded, I will take care of it from there.'

'Okay, but please, be careful.' she replied. On the inside, Zenith/Jim smiled. Then, he acted. He lunged at the robot with an overhead chop, which Deathfacer blocked with ease. Zenith was expecting this, and acted accordingly; with Deathfacer raising both of its arms, Zenith landed a solid kick to its unprotected midsection. The robot stumbled back, but regained its composure. It lifted its left arm, and fired its gatling gun. The red shots narrowly missed the Ultra as he cartwheeled out of the way. It continued to fire, but Zenith kept on evading. Then, Zenith came up, and sent a shredding halo its way. Deathfacer fired at it, making it explode. Then, Zenith landed a drop-kick. The robot stumbled back a couple of steps as Zenith pressed his attack. He assaulted the machine with a flurry of punches and chops. However, they did no real damage. Deathfacer swung with its massive claw, but Zenith evaded it. It went for an overhead strike, but Zenith caught the claw in both hands. A mistake. Deathfacer brought up its left arm, and fired its gatling into Zenith's unprotected midsection, sending the Ultra flying back, grunting in pain. Zenith rose up painfully, only to get smacked in the face by a giant claw. He rolled on the ground, and came back up, expecting the same thing to happen again. However, the orb on the claw's head glowed a bright red. Zenith knew what was going to happen next, and rolled out of the way of a crimson beam that scorched the jungle where he had been. Zenith came back up, and fired his slash-beam at the robot. The attack threw sparks and made it take a couple of steps back, but no real damage had been done. Then, he threw his Spacium Beam at it. This time, the attack made it stumble to its knees and it threw a miniature explosion.

'Now, Krystal!' Zenith mentally shouted. Krystal went into action, and unloaded two nova bombs in its face. The attack made it fall backward until it collapsed. Zenith nodded at her, and the blue-furred vixen smiled openly from ear to ear. Deathfacer stood up, its lens-like face nothing more than molten slag. Then, the chest opened up, and a cannon-like protrusion came out. Zenith felt himself gasp in recognition when he saw it, while Krystal had a puzzled expression. 'No! If he fires it here…' Zenith thought. He turned to Krystal.

"Krystal, get out of here! It's about to fire its main weapon!"

"No! I won't leave you!"

"You have to! That cannon has enough firepower to take out a small planet! If I cannot take it out, it will destroy more than half of Sauria!"

"All the more reason for me to stay and help you!" she argued.

"Don't argue with me, girl! Just do it!" Zenith shouted, his voice sounding harsh. Krystal was taken aback by it. She felt his emotions soften, then he spoke again. "Please, go. I can't bear to think that you will die here. If I meet my end here, at least I'll know that you're still alive. Please." With a heavy heart, Krystal complied. She turned her arwing skyward, and left the atmosphere, and into space. Zenith turned back to face the robot. Its operator decided to hold off the execution, just to hear the Warrior of Light's touching words.

"Well, well, well. Quite the noble hero, aren't we. Then again, since you recognize the Neo Maxima Cannon, I suppose that I don't blame you. You are correct, in that it can destroy a small world, which should be plenty for dealing with you!" Kaza-Miin shouted from inside. Then, the cannon started to glow as energy gathered within it. Quickly, Zenith converted to his Powered form, knowing he just has one shot; he knows that if he tries to rush him, the robot will fire, full power or not. Even at half power, it is still powerful enough to inflict a mortal wound upon him. So, he will have to do this the old fashioned way. He raised both of his arms upward, meeting them at the wrists. Then, he brought the fingertips of the hands to barely touch the sides of his warning light. All the while, yellow energy was swirling into his being. The cannon continued to charge to its full power. Zenith swung his left arm outward to his side, while his right arm was bent up at the elbow, light gathering into his warning light.

"_**MEGANIUMMU-" **_Zenith brought the left arm to meet the inside of his right, the hand curled into a fist. Just as he did, the Neo Maxima Cannon fired, a crimson beam of destruction issuing forth. _**"KOUSEN!" **_A golden beam erupted out of the forearm of his right arm, going from elbow to fingertips. The two beams collided, and fought for supremacy, each one pushing the other back. Krystal went back to the surface of the planet, and saw the spectacle. Zenith was being pushed backward from the incredible force of the beam war, as was Deathfacer. Then, Krystal focused with all of her being, and entered Zenith's mind. She was in the red void, and Jim was standing there, his arms in the same position as Zenith's, but it appeared that he was faltering. She went up behind him, and embraced him. Jim looked behind him, and saw Krystal.

"I thought I told you to-"

"And you should know, that you don't have to fight that thing alone. If you need help, then don't hesitate to ask. You asked me to leave you to your fate. That, is something that I cannot do, no matter how much you plead me to. I will not leave you. Not now, nor ever. I care too much for you to just leave you to die. I won't let you go, not if I can help it." Then, her form glowed a cerulean blue, and the glow encompassed Jim. He felt a great warmth enter him, and easing the pain he was in. He felt her feelings for him; love, kindness, compassion, all of it entering his being. He lost himself in the bliss.

Zenith's Meganium Beam just increased in intensity, and was overpowering the Cannon's beam. Soon, it pushed it back, and the Meganium Beam erupted out of the other side of Deathfacer. Zenith lowered his arms when the beam died, and looked on, his warning light flashing a steady red. Deathfacer stood there, motionless. Then, it fell to its knees, and fell face-forward. It was engulfed in flames and explosions in seconds, leaving nothing but ashes and debris in its wake. Then, Zenith faded in a sparkle of light.

On the ground, Jim opened his eyes to the night sky. The moon was over him, full and shining. He sat up, and looked around. Next to him, Krystal was lying on her side, facing away from him. Jim turned her over to her back, and held her in his arms. He shook her, called her name. Her eyes fluttered open, resting emeralds on his face. She smiled broadly when she saw him, and he returned it to her. She got up, and embraced him. "I told you. You are stronger with us. Don't try to take on anything alone, not if you have friends to help you." Jim continued to hold her tightly, saying "Thank you." into her ear.

In the blue void, the cloaked figure watched the pair with growing interest. The Krazoa Spirits were wafting about him, chittering and whispering, until one spoke up. "Master, it would appear that her potential is awakening."

"Yes, as I thought it would. All she needed was someone to give her the right push. Zenith will be able to bring out the true power of the One who has the Power of the Soul in her. Together, when both Sun and Soul are together, only then will Gorzul meet his end. I only pray that, the other forces don't destroy them in the process, not before they meet the real enemy. And even then, Gorzul is a force to be reckoned with." With that said, the image faded to blue. "After all, this isn't the first time he tried to take the Lylat System."

On Sauria, Jim and Krystal decided to spend one more night on the planet before departing to meet up with Fox and the others. They shared the same bed as before. Krystal cuddled up next to him, and even kissed him goodnight. With that, Jim passed out from exhaustion.


	30. Enter Lillith

Chapter 30

Enter Lillith

Mirai and Serizawa were still on board the Great Fox when Jim and Krystal returned. The Ultras greeted their junior member enthusiastically, while Jim returned it. Then, a thought occurred to the Ultra/human. "Oh, dammit! The fleet! During the fighting, they escaped!" he shouted.

"Don't worry, nii-san." Mirai said.

"Huh?"

"We already took care of it." Serizawa replied. While Jim was taking care of Deathfacer, Mebius and Hikari, along with most of he team, headed for Sauria to take care of the rest of the fleet. Mebius and Hikari took out the cruisers and carriers with little difficulty, while the team handled the fighters and such. In a matter of minutes, the fleet was a bad memory. Jim felt relief wash over him, as did Krystal. Now, one more issue remained.

"Our mission remains; we still need to find a way to blend in, and integrate. It's the only way for us to get a foothold in setting up security here." Serizawa said.

"Are ya sure you guys need to do that? I mean, we have Jim here, and we have been doing pretty well so far, right?" Falco said. Serizawa nodded at him.

"We must. There's no telling when the next battle will take place, and they are getting more and more intense with each passing moment. We are not doubting Zenith's capabilities. Rather, our superiors feel that it is best for the added security."

"Okay, so what do we do? There's no humans here, and people will probably figure out who you guys are, since there will be three Ultras here, and three humans." Fox said. Mirai and Serizawa looked at one another, and nodded.

"Not to worry, we have the means to remedy that." Mirai said, grinning broadly. Then, both Ultras raised their braces, and they flashed. After the bright light faded, they were met with a rather unexpected surprise; Mirai and Serizawa had taken on the forms of anthropomorphs. Mirai was a yellow Labrador Retriever, while Serizawa was a Japanese Bear Hound. The team members stood agape, while Jim laughed out loud.

"Well, nii-san, what do you think?" Mirai asked, feeling the fur along his arms and face.

"Not bad, Mirai-kun. You too, Serizawa-san." As the two Ultras were inspecting themselves, Slippy decided to ask what was on the others' minds.

"Hey, Jim, how come you can't do that?"

"I can. It's just that now, everyone is used to my appearance right now, that if I changed my physical self, it may look suspicious."

"Oh." When they were done inspecting themselves, they decided to say their farewells. In the hangar, the pair switched to Japanese.

"Zenith. Be on guard. We believe that the council has sent someone to this system."

"How can you be sure, Serizawa-san?"

"It's the message we received from commander Zoffy. He says that he saw Kronos get ready for a universal jump through the gateway."

"You said 'Kronos'? That means that the council is speeding up its plans. My brothers, we do not have much time left. We must act swiftly if we are to save these people."

"Agreed. We must find Kronos, and find a way to neutralize him. Then, we can focus on the bigger problem."

"Do we know if they still plan on using _it_, though?"

"No doubt about it. They plan on utilizing the artifact to manipulate the timeline of this universe to accomplish their goals." Jim cursed under his breath.

"How do they plan on powering it, though. The energy needed to maintain it would rival that of a sun."

"We don't know. What we do know, is that they are hurrying up their designs. Nii-san, we must hurry. We cannot allow these people to fall, for any reason." Mirai said. After that, the two converted to their Ultra forms, and flew away as red and blue balls of light.

Jim took in all that they had said as he went to his quarters. 'If they sent Kronos here as a vanguard, then they must be planning to use the artifact soon. We must find a way to stop them. If we can find where Kronos is, we might be able to get information out if him pertaining to the operation that the council is planning. At the very least, we must try to stop him. Even among the elite, he is rumored to be the strongest the Ultra warriors. Definitely not going to be easy.' All of these thoughts were racing through his head at the speed of light, when his intercom went off. "Jim, you are needed up on the bridge, ASAP." ROB's mechanical voice sounded. The Ultra/human groaned in irritation, and went for the command head. When he got there, he was greeted with an unexpected surprise. On the view screen, was the same type of S.O.S. signal that he had seen when Mebius and Hikari sent for him when encountering the armada over Venom.

"Recognize this, Jim?" Peppy asked. All eyes were on him as he stepped forward.

"Where is it coming from?" he asked. Peppy brought up the star chart, and it showed where the signal originated from, in accordance with the location of the Great Fox. It was coming from in between Fichina and Zoness. Jim wasted no time in going for the hangar. The rest of the team followed suit, heading for their crafts. Jim, however, had something different in mind; when he was standing in front of the barrier, he raised his Brace, and converted to Ultraman Zenith. The red and silver Warrior of Light was floating just outside of the barrier, waiting for the fighters to exit. One by one, the four arwings shot out of the hangar, and flew behind the Ultra as he lead the way to the origin of the S.O.S.

In the orbit around the planet known as Papetoon, something out of the ordinary was taking place. Venomian raiders, who were well known in this part of space, were attacking a target. However, their supposed victim was far from helpless. She retaliated with all of her power vented at them. Although not trained for combat, she was still able to hold her own when the situation demanded it. After all, Lillith was born in M78, alongside with Zenith. The female Ultra was in her human size, sending energy beams at her assailants. She came to this reality to aide her old friend in his struggle against Gorzul. However, it looks like that her mission would end prematurely; even though she can handle a handful of the fighters, there were at least a dozen of them. Also, they were fast and swift, making it hard for her to get a bead on them. It wouldn't be long before she would tire, and fall victim to them. She sent out a distress signal, hoping that he would answer. It wouldn't be long before she would either be saved, of die here. One of the fighters went behind her, and fired. She saw it coming, and evaded the attack. Lillith sent an energy beam its way, vaporizing it. "Come on, then! Finish what you started!" she shouted at the fighters. The remaining eight raiders seemed to oblige, as they bore down on her. Lillith braced herself for the coming assault, hoping for at least a quick end. Then, it happened. An arrow-shaped beam sliced through a couple of them, and the remains exploded into a large fireball. Then, she saw him; seeming to come out of the sun like an avenging angel, Zenith was bearing down on the assailants, his slash-beam tearing through them with little difficulty. He flew in front of her, shielding her with his body.

"Lillith, are you alright?" he asked.

"I'll be fine, Zenith. Thank God that you're here." she said, relief evident in her voice.

"So, you sent that Ultra Sign." he said.

"Yes. I'll explain everything. Right now, we have more pressing matters." Lillith replied, as the raiders were bearing down on them. Zenith was preparing to fire his Spacium Kousen, when several emerald shots gunned down the remaining handful of fighters. Then, Zenith and Lillith saw them; the arwings were visible through the loud of debris and wreckage as they floated in space. The pilots looked at the pair, and Falco couldn't help but smile broadly.

"Well, well. Look what Jim found himself. I guess that if there's Ultra _men,_ there must be Ultra _women as well." _he said, laughing slightly. Krystal saw her, and wondered who she was. Zenith turned to her, and said "You have some explaining to do." Lillith nodded, and flew beside Zenith.

Back on the Great Fox, Zenith reverted to his human form of Jim, and Lillith reverted to her form as well; she was a blonde-haired woman of about nineteen, who kept her hair shoulder length. She wore what looked like a type of white dress that reached her knees along with sandals with straps that reached up to her shins. Jim looked at her, and saw her shapely body, the dress showing her female curves in perfect detail. Lillith smiled slightly as he stared at her. "See something you like, Zenith?" she asked. Jim snapped out of his confusion, and stammered.

"Uh, uhm, no. Just seeing you for the first time in ages is somewhat…unnerving I guess." he replied nervously. Lillith smiled broadly, and even giggled slightly at his blushing face. Then, the arwings showed up. The team jumped out, and saw the blonde beauty for themselves. Fox saw her and Jim blushing, and couldn't help but smirk, as did Falco. Krystal saw his expression, and tried to hide her own giggling, however, the one who found her attractive would be Slippy. He took one look at her, and couldn't peel his froggy eyes off of her. He looked at her soft blue eyes, and felt melted by them. He could honestly say that, he fell in love with an angel. "So, Jim, who's your pretty little friend?" Falco asked. He strode up to them, and glanced at the two of them.

"This is uh… Lillith. An old friend" Zenith said, gesturing to the girl before him. Falco looked her up and down, and smiled.

"So, you never told me that you had a girlfriend on your planet." Falco said. Jim felt himself choke, then sputtered angrily.

"I-it's not like that! It was a long time ago, when we were kids!" he nearly shouted.

"Uh-huh. Imagine what Krystal will say, when she sees the two of you together like this." he prodded, enjoying seeing the young man get red in the face. Lillith laughed behind her hands at this. Fox and the others joined them. Krystal heard what Falco said, and almost laughed herself, but wondered if it held true. Jim made the introductions. When Lillith saw Slippy, she saw the same puppy-dog love look in his eyes that most guys would have for her. She laughed slightly at this when Slippy uneasily made his introduction. "Uhh, my name is.. That is, it's uhm…*gulp*…Slippy." he managed. Jim saw this, and chuckled slightly.

'Well, well. So her charms work on Ultras, _and _Lylats, eh?' he mused. Falco saw this, and nearly burst out laughing. Fox smirked, and Krystal giggled behind his hands. Lillith smiled sweetly, and introduced herself. Slippy turned from green to red in a matter of moments. Then, she turned to Jim, and asked if there was somewhere private where they could talk. Jim led her to his quarters, leaving the four anthros alone. When they were gone, Falco burst with laughter over Slippy's red face.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Oh, man Slippy! You should see your face right now! You're like Fox when he started dating Fara!" Fox also laughed, while Krystal joined in. Slippy then held his head down, embarrassed. Fox patted him on the shoulder.

"Hey, slip it's cool. So you like her. I don't blame you, she is kinda cute."

"Better not let Fara hear you say that, Fox McCloud." Krystal said.

"Either way, Slipster, she's outta your league. I mean, you're a three, at best, whereas she's a freakin' ten!" Falco said.

"Do you always have to bring him down, Falco?" Krystal asked, her hands on her hips, glaring at the avian. He was always putting the amphibian down at almost every turn. No matter what, he would just not let up. Falco merely shrugged in response, while Slippy walked away, his head down, no longer feeling jovial like usual. When the team saw this, Krystal continued to chew Falco out, while Slippy just made his way to his room to be alone with his thoughts. 'Falco's right. I'm not in the same class as her. She's the perfect girl, and I'm just a frog. What chance do I have with her?'

In his quarters, Jim questioned Lillith. "Does your mother still think of me as a traitor?" he asked. Lillith was sitting on the edge of his bed, while Jim paced the room.

"Don't be cruel. Not everyone is against you, you know."

"No, just the ones who see me as the one who brought about the next apocalypse. Your mother always hated me, and my father. Me, because I released Gorzul, and my father because he's a soldier!" he almost shouted. Jim knew that Lillith's mother was on the Council of Ultra, the ruling government when Ultraman King was not around to handle things. Her father was a soldier himself, but unlike Hayata, he was never home to tend to his family, always out seeking fame and glory in the most harshest of battles. Because of this, Lillith's mother hated him, and viewed all soldiers as the same. The only reason why she allowed her daughter to see Zenith as children, was because the two were in an engaged marriage. If this marriage were to be seen all the way through, then it would have combined to famous families, and both of them would've prospered. While Hayata was famous as a soldier, Lillith's mother was adept at politics, and was well known in the field. Her voice is the one that is usually heard above most others. However, all that was dashed, when Zenith unintentionally released Gorzul from its imprisonment. At that moment, Lillith's mother found the excuse she needed to terminate the arranged marriage.

"I'm not against you. That's why I'm here."

"Oh, really?" he asked, scoffing her claim.

"Yes. Mother of Ultra sent me here to aide you." the name made Jim freeze in his tracks, and he turned to face her.

"Mother of Ultra? As in the commander of the Silver Cross Corp.?" he asked.

"Yes. I'm a member myself." Lillith said. Jim's expression went from hock to disbelief.

"You're a member of the Silver Cross Corp.? Didn't your mother object?" he asked.

"She did. However, that's what I wanted. I was tired of always doing what she said, and hearing her berate the Space Garrison for all of the problems that we suffered. When I turned eighteen, I joined the corp., and became a member."

"Really? That's great!" Jim said. The Silver Cross Corp. were the healers of the Ultras. Just as the Space Garrison were warriors, the Silver Cross were known to heal any injury and illness, no matter how severe. They were the true miracle workers of the Ultras, where tales of resurrection are concerned. If Lillith was truly a member of the Corp. then it could help him out tremendously. However, he still had his doubts. "So, your mother doesn't know that you're here, then?" he asked. Lillith turned away.

"Actually, she does. However, she knows that I'm under orders from Mother of Ultra to be here. But that doesn't stop her from trying to attack both her, and the Father of Ultra." she said, looking discouraged. However, Jim tried to cheer her up.

"So what. We both know that there is nothing that your mother can do. She may be a big-shot politician, but that's it. Everyone knows that the Father and Mother of Ultra cannot be touched politically, since they protect the Land of Light."

"Well, that doesn't seem to have deterred her much. If anything, she seems to be emboldened."

"Does this have anything to do with what they plan to do with this reality?" he asked. He needed to know what she knew about their plans as well. She looked sullen, and answered.

"Yes. She feels that, if she goes along with this, then the Council will gain ultimate power, and become the supreme ruling head of the Land of Light. Her mad scheme is mostly because she wants to prove that Father and Mother of Ultra can't do a good job pf protecting us, as well as to prove that they can rule, just as well if not better that King ever did. They got the Ultras all stirred up, because they are convinced by the Council that they are doing something worthwhile, that doing this will be the ultimate proof that we are the ultimate force for good in our universe, as well as any universe for that matter." Jim cursed under his breath.

"And their using my guilt against me. They promised me that if I help them with this, then my crimes will be abolished, just like that. Dammit!" he almost shouted. He kicked the side of the bed in anger, ignoring the pain in his shin. Lillith stood up to embrace him.

"Don't beat yourself up like this. What you are doing, protecting these people like you are, is what truly matters. Even though you are still viewed as a traitor, word of your exploits are reaching to M78, as well as the race that you are fighting for. Now, people are starting to wonder if the Council is right in their endeavors. Just a little more, and then the Land of Light will see you as the hero that you truly are." She held him there, remembering the friendship that they had when they were children. Zenith always wanted to be a warrior like his father, while Lillith wanted to help people. However, her mother would not allow it. But, that did not stop her, evidently. "you are a great warrior, like your father is, Zenith. You just have to keep doing what it is that you are doing. Everything will work out in the end." She pulled away, and gave him a wry smile. "Besides, you already are a hero to some, especially to a certain blue-furred vixen." she said. Jim pulled away, the words lodged in his throat. "I knew it. Your reddening face is evident enough." she said, laughing. Jim looked away, embarrassed. "You don't need to be embarrassed. I think it's cute, that you have fallen for someone like her." Jim decided to reply.

"I see that you still haven't lost your own charm, Lillith. A certain amphibian seems to have taken quite a shine to you himself." he said, smiling himself. Lillith faltered a bit, remembering the same frog who nervously introduced himself. She turned away, smiling a bit to herself.

"Yes, well, about him. He seems sweet on the inside. Although not really self-confident."

"You can thank Falco for that. He's always getting put down by the avian at every twist and turn. He may not be a strong flier, true but he keeps the ship in running order."

"Really?"

"Yes. He our mechanic/engineer and inventor all rolled into one. He keeps the fighters and equipment maintained in perfect working order. True, while not much of a looker, he does have other qualities. He's joined an online dating site, but so far, he gets shot down by every girl that goes online, even the desperate ones." Jim said. Lillith took it all in, and nodded as he spoke.

"Well, are you going to hold me to our arranged marriage?" she asked, a slight smile on her face. Jim returned it.

"Honestly, I think that you should be with whomever you choose to be, even if it's with Falco. However unlikely that may seem." Lillith laughed out loud. "Seriously, though, Slippy does have potential. He just needs the right person to bring it out in him."

"Well, maybe I can give him a push then." Lillith said.

In his room, Slippy checked his account on the dating service. Per usual, there was no one answering his e-mail. Sighing sadly, he logged out, and began to tinker with a piece of gadgetry that seemed to belong in an engine. Normally, something like this would take his minds off of things. However, Slippy found his mind going back to the girl who just walked in. Her blonde hair in slight curls going to her shoulders, her soft blue eyes that portrayed a semblance of innocence, her angelic face and fair skin, her shapely body, he just couldn't get it out of his head. He sighed in frustration, and angrily slammed the gadgetry on his desk. He collapsed on his bed, closing his froggy eyes, trying to get some sleep.

Jim showed Lillith around the ship, after explaining to Fox the reason why she was here. After hearing about her abilities to heal just about any injury, he agreed. Although she would probably have to remain on the ship most of the time, due to her inexperience in combat, she would most likely become a valuable asset. Jim took her to the engine room, where Slippy was doing a maintenance check. He saw her, and tried to turn away in a hurry, hoping that she wouldn't see him.

"-anyway, Slippy here could better explain it better than I can, can't you Slip?" Jim asked. Slippy turned around rather nervously, and looked at the pair.

"Huh? Who, me?" he asked, pointing to himself."

"Is there anyone else who can take care of the ship better than you?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Slippy saw that Lillith was wearing one of the outfits that Krystal has in her wardrobe. Although Lillith protested, the vixen insisted that Lillith have a pair, until they reach either Zoness or Corneria. It was a light blue dress, that complemented the eyes. At least, it did to Slippy. Jim looked at his communicator. "I have to be somewhere right now, Slippy, you can handle this, right?"

"Uh-uhm…that is, I don't…"

"Great! I'll see the two of you later." Jim dashed out of the entrance, and froze near the frame, leaving the door slightly open. With him, was Krystal. "Are you sure about this, Krystal?" he asked.

"Trust me, he is head over heels for her. But, what about Lillith?"

"She finds him cute. That's enough for now. Let's see what happens now." Both of them peer through the glass view on the door.

Lillith was bending over slightly over Slippy's shoulder while it looked like he was explaining about the engine. He told her about the cold-fusion drive, how much energy it needs to maintain it, etc. Lillith looked like she was interested, but kept her mind focused on the amphibian. Being a full-blooded Ultra, she was capable of telepathy. She read his mind, albeit a little, but just enough to know what was on the surface. She smiled at the thought of his about her being beautiful. About, how he has fallen for an angel. That one almost made her blush. Slippy stammered through most of the explanation, but Lillith didn't seem to mind. She thought it was adorable, watching him turn red and being unable to speak coherently. Krystal felt her using her telepathy on the amphibian, and was about to say something, but Jim stopped her. "She won't read his mind too deeply, just enough to know what he thinks about her."

"But that's cheating." she said.

"Oh, come on. You did the same thing to me, remember?" he retorted. Krystal looked like she wanted to say something, but kept it down. She turned her focus to the pair as Slippy continued to explain the details about the engine, and Lillith listening intently. Slippy continued to stutter and stammer over every sentence when she was near him, but she continued to ignore it. She was thinking that, she could have a bit of fun while she was here.


	31. Lillith in Action

Chapter 31

Descent

Gorzul sat in its throne in the darkened room. It was cloaked, per usual. The hood covered any visible face that it has underneath, giving it a menacing appearance. Then, one of the large doors at the end of the spacious room opened, and a figure walked to him. It was Claire, the she-wolf was walking towards the throne in a purposeful pace. She stopped just short of the throne, and bowed deeply. When she regained her composure, she spoke. "Lord Gorzul. Kaza-Miin has been eliminated by Zenith, along with his entire fleet. The Ultras Hikari and Mebius came to this universe from the Ultraverse."

"I know, my child. I have felt it. I had hoped that he would be more competent than that, but due to his lack of experience with the beings, it was merely a matter of time. However, that means that you are now free to carry out your own assignment, assuming those foolish Ultras don't destroy the Lylats themselves." Gorzul replied with a raspy chuckle when he said the last sentence.

"But milord, if the Ultras do succeed, what will become of us?" Claire asked. Gorzul laughed raspy, and replied.

"Do not worry. My fortress will withstand the changes that their precious contraption will bring about. After all, I had found the secret of traveling to other dimensions, same as they had. Do not worry my dear. If those fools do accomplish their goals, it matters not, the Lylat system will be changed slightly, but my goal will remain the same. And you, my dear, will be the first one to conquer in my name. Pray, we are that lucky. Pray, that they are that stupid." Gorzul replied, before letting out another raspy laugh. "We will wait. And see just what shall unfold. Who knows, it just may work to our advantage." If his face were visible, Gorzul would be seen smiling, with Claire smiling along with him.

On the Great Fox: Lillith was busy getting familiar with the ship. Jim was showing her around, while the rest of the team went on with business as usual. However, that didn't stop Falco from trying to get a prod out of Jim every now and then. The occasional snide remarks often made the human/Ultra more than a little hot under the collar. Lillith knew what the avian was up to, and just laughed to herself from the teasing. However, whenever they passed Slippy, the amphibian almost always went red. He stammered around her, and Lillith would just smile warmly at him. Jim noticed this, and smiled amusingly. He knew that Slippy was already infatuated with the female Ultra greatly, and that Lillith saw actual potential in him. The main thing that kept it from going further was the fact that she was an Ultra, and he an amphibian. However, Jim feels that they can get over that barrier. After all, he did the same thing with Krystal. Lillith had only been on the ship for several days already, but was showing familiarization with details that would take the average person days, even weeks to get used to. Krystal envied her, because she had to learn how to use the basic things, like a water faucet and light switch while onboard. Lillith on the other hand picked things up quick. She already understood more than half of the techno-babble that Slippy often spewed forth, and was helping Slippy with some of the maintenance herself. She was given her own room, and Jim was nearby to give her a hand with anything. Some of the crew members thought that Jim and Lillith were already in a relationship, except for Krystal. Even Slippy seemed to try to shy away from her, thinking that she was Jim's girlfriend. One time, Lillith tried to give Slippy a hand with something, but refused. When she asked why, he gave a nervous answer.

"W-well, uhm, because of…"

"Because of what?" she asked. They were both in the engine room, and the cooling system, and the amphibian went down to check it out. Lillith decided to tag along.

"Uhm, aren't you and Jim are, uhh…."

"A couple?" she finished for him, smiling. Slippy nodded, his froggy face going red again. Lillith chuckled a bit, then replied. "We were once. However, I seem to be…available at the moment." Slippy could feel his face go even redder with each passing word she said.

'Oh, man, this is it! My dream girl! The one I've been waiting for! This can't be a coincidence, it just can't be. Wait, what about our differences? Well, There's Jim and Krystal, sure, but…..isn't this a whole other ball-game?' Lillith picked up his maelstrom of thoughts, and giggled a bit, then she left the engine room to head for her quarters. On the command bridge, Fox McCloud and Peppy Hare were going over the latest orders that were given to them by General Pepper; they are to head for the planet known as Amador, which was located in the outer sector of the Lylat System. Although not really thought to support life, there is a mining colony underneath the surface of the planet, to mine the rich supplies of raw minerals. It is said to rival that of Macbeth in wealth. The reason for this, is because of the supposed S.O.S that the military received from the planet not too long ago, after a few weeks of radio silence. Star Fox has been ordered to investigate, immediately. Jim was present as well, overlooking everything at his station and such. He couldn't help but get a feeling of dread when he heard the planet, and the situation. True, nothing could really faze him at this point, but he felt that something was going to go wrong, and that's when he felt his 'warning sense' go off slightly. It was more like a slight tingle than the actual sense going into over-drive like it usually does in the past. He made a personal note. When the warp gate headed for the world opened, he felt apprehensive, nervous, as if he really shouldn't go through that to Amador. He suppressed it as best he could, but the feeling still lingered. When they went through the portal, the planet was visible; it was a dull brown in color, with a thin atmosphere that could hardly support life, a few plants and insects were about all it could support. However, their destination was under the surface.

After setting down on a landing pad, just outside of an airlock, Jim got his first view of the world known as Amador; it was a desert terrain, where a few dry shrubs sprouted here and there, rocky formations covering the sandy landscape, etc. The team donned special breathing apparatus, due to the thin atmosphere. After opening the airlock, the faint breeze wafted up, as if to welcome them on the hostile planet. Lillith opted to remain back on the ship with Peppy, for fear that she would get in the way of her new fiends. Jim was a little unsure about this, but let her stay anyway. After entering the airlock, the team half-expected an escort to greet them, however, none made its presence known. The tunnel leading down to the colony was dimly lit by overhanging lamps, and the tunnel seemed to stretch for an eternity, rather than only a couple hundred yards. After several long minutes of walking in total silence, the team finally reached the colony, or rather, what was left of it. The colony was built inside of a large cavern, sitting right on top of a rich titanium deposit. It was built some five years ago, and looked like a miniature town inside of the planet, with some medium-sized buildings almost reaching the ceiling of the cave. However, all that was left, was destruction. All of the structures were laid waste, with virtually no sign of life. All of the colonists' bodies were lying in the street, bloodied and torn, as if something had tore them all asunder. Krystal stopped at a child's body, and turned it over. In life, it would have been an eight-year old red vulpine, living with his family. Now, his body was gashed, a long ugly cut going from shoulder to pelvis diagonally. Krystal felt the fear in his dead eyes as he looked up sightlessly, the horror of his murder still apparent on his face. Krystal got up from the body, trying to save the tears for when she was able to leaved this place of death. The rest of the team spread out, trying to find any survivors in the ruin, though they doubted that they would find any, not here. Then, Fox entered the remains of what was the communications center. There, he found out that the signal that was sent was merely an automatic distress beacon. One question was answered, leaving others to be solved. Jim said it best when he said "What in God's name happened here?" No one had an answer for that. Not even the dead.

On the Great Fox, Lillith was at the command head, assisting Peppy as best as she could, though she felt that there was little that she could do. However, Peppy noticed that she was learning fast, much like Jim was when he started training almost a year ago. Lillith felt this from the old hare, and allowed herself to smile a bit. After being shown how to use the IFF tracker, to locate the team-members anywhere in the colony, she was able to get a fix on the five living beings there, each one distinguished by thier own unique marker; Fox had a bright orange dot to represent him, Falco had dark blue, Slippy green, Krystal light blue, and Jim a bright red. All of them were moving about in the ruins of the colony, the map displaying a detailed, three-dimensional representation of the colony. However, her pulse quickened when she noticed the several black dots headed for each team-member. "Peppy, come over here, please." The old hare shuffled to Lillith's station, and peered over her shoulder to see what was the matter. Needless to say, when he saw the unidentified signals, he also got anxious. He keyed in the team on their individual head-sets. "Listen up, people; you got several bogies headed right for you. Keep an eye out for them, and let the rest of the team know when you make contact. We don't want to lose anyone here. Jim, that goes especially for you, too."

"What? Why me?" he complained. Lillith answered for him, in Japanese no less.

"Because if anything were to happen to you, Krystal would never forgive you."

"Besides the obvious, I mean." he replied, smiling.

"I'll give you something that's obvious." the blue-furred vixen replied, grinning.

"Oh, no. Not you too." Jim moaned.

"Cut the chatter, people. Jim, you heard Peppy. Do not engage them without us. You're too valuable to lose here, as is everyone else. Do not engage the unidentified, until you have some sort of backup, understood?" Fox ordered. Everyone sounded off. Jim was walking slowly and purposefully through a street, his blaster drawn, and the Spacium Brace kept close to his heart. Then, he saw movement. Acting on instinct, he pursued it, and eventually came to a dead-end, cornering whatever it was. It looked like a young girl, about twelve years of age. He couldn't identify what species she was, however, he was able to tell that it was a feline of a sorts, given the tail and shape of the ears perched atop her furred head. She was dressed in a dirty red blouse, and had a head band on her head. She stood there, not facing Jim, her back turned to him. Jim was about to holster his weapon, when his warning sense went off, cautioning him to keep it drawn. He approached the little girl slowly, when his headset went off.

"Jim, what have you found?" Fox asked. He had been tracking the team through the portable map on his wrist-watch communicator, and when he saw Jim pursue an unknown signal, he decided to check in.

"I think I found one of the colonists." Jim said. Stopping just behind the girl.

"Don't move. Don't do anything, until one of us gets down there." Fox ordered, and proceeded to head for his location.

"Something's wrong here. What's this all over her?" Jim asked aloud, when he saw the sickly yellow fluid coming from a cut on the back of her neck. Jim inched his way forward, when he noticed that the girl's breathing was coming in heavy breaths, as though she were having difficulty breathing. When he placed a hand on her shoulder, she turned around very slowly, until Jim got a good look at her. What he saw, made his blood freeze; he face was pale, and discolored, her eyes were nothing more than pale, lifeless orbs, staring blankly at him. Her mouth was hanging open, more of the yellow fluid coming out of it in strands, and pooling on the ground. Then, she opened her mouth even wider, and it actually unhinged itself, like a snake's, and two tentacles shot out at him. Jim let out a loud "JEEZUS!", and fell back.

"Jim, is everything all right?" Fox asked, quickening his pace when he heard the curse over his headset. Then, he heard plasma fire over his headset, and an un-godly shriek. After tense moments, Jim answered.

"Everyone, be on guard! The unknown signals are the colonists. Repeat, the unknown signals are the colonists! If and when you see them, shoot on sight. Repeat, SHOOT ON SIGHT!" Jim signed off, and looked down at the headless, twitching body before him. He decided to place one more in the heart, and the body ceased its involuntary spasms. "My God, what have they done?" Jim asked out loud.

Krystal was finishing her sweep when she heard the conversation and noises over her headset. She hurried over to Jim's location, when she saw two forms standing in her way; one as the size of an adult, canine by the looks of it, and a male, judging from the build, while the other was slightly smaller than the other, probably a female. When they inched their way closer to her when she stopped in front of her, she saw what Jim had meant when he said 'shoot on sight'; the two figures had dead eyes focused on her, and their mouths were impossibly wide open, to allow two slimy tentacles to snake out, and reach for her. Krystal gave a scream of fright, and fired. Jim and Fox heard the scream and shots, and, with all due haste, hurried to her location. When they arrived, the 'colonists' were shambling towards the frightened vixen, the taller of the two already missing an arm. Jim aimed for the head of the adult, and fired a charged shot, obliterating it, and the headless corpse slumped to the ground. Then, the child leapt up at Krystal, the tentacles mere inches from her face. A blue shot sent it to the ground, and another blew its head off. Krystal collapsed in Fox's arms as she started to sob uncontrollably from the ordeal. Falco and Slippy arrived, and, unfortunately, so did company; at least a hundred of the converted colonists surrounded them, and were now slowly advancing on them. The Star Fox team made a circle, but knew that they were hopelessly outnumbered, and it was only a matter of time before they fell under superior numbers. That is, if they relied on merely hand-blasters and a handful of grenades. "Jim, now!" Fox shouted. Jim nodded, and brought his Spacium Brace to his heart, with his hand over it, where it flashed once, then threw both of his arms out, crucifix style, shouting "GAAIIIIYYOOOOO!" and his form was enveloped in a crimson luminescence. The team had to shield their eyes, as did the 'colonists'. When everyone lowered their eyes when the glare subsided, Ultraman Zenith was standing before them, in his 'standard' mode. Then, the colonists did something none of them expected; they pointed at Zenith, and uttered "Uulltraa….Uulltraaa…", and focused solely on Zenith. Zenith got into his combat stance, and fired his Slash ray at several of the 'colonists', before leaping up over them, and landing behind them. Amazingly, they completely ignored the rest of the team, and followed after the Ultra.

"Why are they so interested in Jim?" Slippy asked the question that was on everyone's mind. Zenith sent Shredding Halos every which-way, beheading and dismembering each being that came into contact with it, while his Spacium Kousen Tore through them like tissue paper. By the dozens, they fell. However, more kept coming out of the wood-work, replacing the missing numbers and adding to the already imposing force. Zenith leapt up onto a building to get a bit of breathing space. 'Just what are these things. They seem to know me, or at least, know of me. Does this mean that whatever did this, came from the Ultraverse?' Zenith wondered. Then, he decided to use his X-ray vision, to get a better understanding of the problem. What he saw, made his heart sink. After looking into one of the 'colonists', he saw that they were infected with some type of pathogen, only he recognized what that pathogen was. 'Damn you, Kronos! Did you bring this terrible thing with you from the Land of Light?' Zenith wondered. Now that he knew what it was that he fighting, he knew how to handle it. Problem was, there was only one way to handle something like this, and the team was still out in the open. He leapt up, and landed in between the team, and the legion of the dead. He converted to his 'powered' form, and took up his battle stance.

"Everyone, get to cover! You don't wanna be here when the fire-works go off!" Zenith said in his distorted voice.

"Jim, what do you-"

"Don't argue with me, Fox! Just DO IT!" Zenith shouted. Everyone got behind something, albeit rubble, a totaled vehicle, or a large hole in the side of the building, as is the case with Slippy. Once he was sure that everyone was out of harm's way, Zenith started to charge his energy. His right arm was bent straight up at the elbow, and his left arm was sticking out from his side. His form started to glow a bright blue as the energy reached its peak, then he placed his arms in a plus shape, with the left arm in front of the right. Immediately after, a cross-shaped blue and white beam of light erupted out of his arms, as the Mega Spacium Kousen scorched its way to the horde of walking dead. The cross-shaped beam struck dead center in the middle of the horde, and the walking dead were consumed in a ball of fire. Zenith's form slowly lost its luminescence, which it kept while he fired his weapon at them. Zenith lowered his arms to his sides, and stood firm. The smoke and dust were beginning to settle and clear when the team decided to head for the open. Once the team rejoined the red and silver Ultra, Zenith regarded them, then turned back to the crater that had once been a couple hundred colonists-turned-walking abominations. Krystal looked horrified at what she had seen, not seeing such a sight since the Aparoid Invasion two years prior. However, she had not seen someone with enough power to wipe out an entire colony like Zenith can. She cast fearful eyes to the red and silver being, as if wondering if he would turn that power on her. Then, as if hearing her fear, Zenith cast his blue-tinted oval eyes to the vixen. Krystal stiffened when she saw him looking at her. He didn't say anything, but she knew that he felt her fear of him just now. He wanted to say something, but didn't know what. Then, Falco let out a whistle, and turned to Zenith. "I gotta say, Jim, you put a whole new shine on the phrase 'cleaned house'." Zenith faced the avian, his smooth, mask-like face unable to betray any emotion whatsoever, however, Krystal knew what it was that he was feeling, though he was trying his very best to conceal it. She picked up the faint sensation of guilt, and remorse. He had not wanted this. He wanted to help these people, not bring an untimely end to their lives. However, he knew that choice was taken from him, the second those people turned into those walking dead. Then, Zenith whirled, and the rest of the team followed suit. Apparently hearing the noise, the rest of the colonists headed for the source of the disturbance. Only problem was, they were exactly like the colonists that Zenith had just destroyed. The team readied their arms, but Zenith signaled for them to lower their arms, and stepped forward, standing in between them and the horde.

"Jim, what are you doing? They'll tear you apart!" Fox shouted.

"Be silent!" Zenith shouted, waving him away dismissively. The Ultra never took his attention off of the oncoming horde. Slowly, the walking dead stopped their shambling, and stopped in front of the red and silver alien warrior. One word escaped their many mouths in unison, as if they were trying to sound like one voice: "_**Uuuullllttrraaaaa**_…."

"I know what it is that you are. But I am wondering, how did you get here to this universe?" Zenith asked the horde. The horde answered in the same unison and voice.

"_**IIIII hhhaaavvve cooommme hheeerrre byyyy meeeaaaannnsss ooofff aaannnooottthhheeerrr lllliiikke yyyyooouuurrrssseeelllfff. Hhheee prrrooommmiiisssed mmmeee aaa nnneeeewww plllaaannneeet fffooorrr mmmeee tooooo ssspprrreeeaaad aaannnddd grrrooowww."**_

"Do you know who it was that brought you here. I must know the answer."

"_**Yyyooouuu aaarrre iiinnn nnnooo ppooosssiiittiioonn toooo deeemmmaaannnd aaannnyyyttthhhiiinnnggg, vvviiillle Wwwaaarrrrriiiooorrr of Llliiigghhtt. III rrreeemmmeeemmmbbeeerrr aaalll toooo wwweeelll wwwhhhaaat iiit wwwaaasss ttthhhhaaatt yyyooouuurrr kiiinnnd diiid toooo mmmeee, aaagggeeesss ppaaassst. III rrreeemmmeeemmmbbeeerrr ttthhhaaat yyyooouuurrr fffaaattthhheeerrr aaannnddd ttthhheee Sssppaaaccceee Gaaarrrrriiisssooonnn ssseeeaaallled mmmeee aaawwwaaayyy, aaafffteeerrr III hhhaaaddd bbbeeennn cccrrreeeaaattteeeddd." **_the horde responded in unison. The team couldn't make heads or tales of it. Even Krystal couldn't really grasp what it was that Zenith was communicating with. However, she felt a powerful presence controlling the colonists, much like the Aparoid influence that she felt during the war with them. Could this be the same thing? The thought went through her head, but dismissed it. They defeated the aparoids, hadn't they?

"We sealed you away, because we knew what it was that you truly wanted. You wanted nothing less than what any disease wanted; total domination over everything. You were going to go on a campaign of conquest, had we not stopped you."

"_**TTTrrruuueee ttthhhaaattt yoooouuuuu hhhaaaddd hhhaaalllttteeeddd mmmyyy pplllaaannnsss, bbbuuuttt ooonnnlllyyy fffooorrr ttthhheee mmmooommmeeennnttt. Nnnooowww ttthhhaaattt III aaammm fffrrreee, nnnooottthhhiiinnnggg wwwiiilll ssstttoooppp mmmeee nnnooowww."**_ The horde laughed in unison when they had said this, the echoing sound sending chills down the team's spine, all but one member; Zenith stood firm, and got back into his combat stance. Then, something unexpected took place. All of the converted colonists started to come together very closely, their bodies touching. Some were even beginning to climb on top of eachother. Zenith knew what it was that they were doing. He turned to the Star Fox team, and shouted "Run, get out of here!" The team gave him a puzzled look just as he returned to focus on the horror that was becoming more and more apparent. Soon, the mass of flesh and diseased tissue took on a form; it was humanoid in shape, standing at least a hundred feet tall, its 'head' almost reaching the ceiling. It didn't have a face, really, save for two openings near the top of the head that glowed from within, presumably serving as the 'eyes' for the body. Other than that, the body was nothing more than a mass of wriggling, twitching bodies, the limbs moving by themselves, giving the grotesque form an undulating like appearance. The team looked on in horror at the new sight. Krystal finally had a face for the presence that she had been feeling since Zenith had started talking to it. However, that never meant that she had to accept it. Zenith was undaunted, and increased his height to match his adversary's. The thing laughed, and pointed at the Ultra, the many voices sounding again; _**"Yyyooouuu ssshhhooouuulllddd rrreeetttuuurrrnnn tttooo wwwhhheeerrreee iiittt iiisss ttthhhaaattt yyyooouuu bbbeeelllooonnnggg, llliiitttllleee ssstttrrriiipppllliiinnnggg wwwaaarrriiiooorrr. Yyyooouuu hhhaaavvveee nnnooo ccchhhaaannnccceee aaagggaaaiiinnnsssttt mmmeee."**_

"**My kind have defeated you before, and I shall beat you, here and now."** Zenith replied, his voice booming in the cavern. The thing gave an unholy scream, and charged. It grappled with Zenith who locked hands with it, only its 'hands' were composed of different bodies. To feel them wriggle and undulate with a life of their own was a little more than disturbing for him. Then, the thing turned around, and suddenly, they were standing back to back, hands still locked. The thing flipped Zenith over his back, and threw him away from it. Zenith collided with several buildings before coming to a stop. He stood up, and got back into a combat stance. The thing charged once more, but Zenith leapt up over it, and planted a foot into its back, propelling it into the ruined buildings, where it fell face-first. It rose up, its many voices growling in anger. Zenith acted this time, sending two shredding halos at it, and severing the 'arms' from its shoulders. The 'limbs' fell to the ground, and the bodies fell from eachother, the limbs losing their cohesiveness. However, the thing only chuckled, and replied.

"_**IIIttt iiisss pppoooiiinnntttllleeesss, Gggaaarrriiisssooonnn mmmeeemmmbbbeeerrr. Mmmyyy bbbooodddyyy iiisss cccooommmppprrriiissseeeddd ooofff ttthhheee ooofff ttthhhiiisss ppplllaaaccceee. Aaannnyyy aaatttaaaccckkk ttthhhaaattt yyyooouuu uuussseee wwwiiilll ooonnnlllyyy bbbeee mmmeeettt wwwiiittthhh ooonnn mmmyyy pppaaarrrttt." **_As if to confirm what the abomination was saying, the dead colonists swarmed back to the main body of other colonists, and a new arm was formed in moments. It flexed its 'limb', and laughed at the Ultra, whose warning light was now starting to blink. _**"Iiittt wwwooouuulllddd aaapppeeeaaarrr ttthhhaaattt yyyooouuurrr lllaaasssttt bbbeeeaaammm aaatttaaaccckkk uuupppooonnn mmmeee bbbeeefffooorrreee III gggooottt ssseeerrriiiooouuusss iiisss ssstttaaarrrtttiiinnnggg tttooo tttaaakkkeee iiitttsss tttooolll ooonnn yyyooouuu, Uuullltttrrraaa. Pppeeerrrhhhaaapppsss iiittt wwwooouuulllddd bbbeee bbbeeesssttt ooonnn yyyooouuurrr pppaaarrrttt tttooo gggiiivvveee ttthhhiiisss vvveeennntttuuurrreee uuuppp, bbbeeefffooorrreee iiittt wwwiiilll bbbeee tttooo lllaaattteee fffooorrr yyyooouuu tttooo rrreeegggrrreeettt iiittt."**_

"_**Never!**_** I will fight you to my last breath! There is no way that I will let you out of here alive, so you can spread your evil plague across the Lylat System, as you did with the inhabitants of the planet that spawned you. You were created to be the cure for the disease that was ravaging their people. You were their greatest hope for survival. But instead of saving them, you subjugated them, took over the bodies of more than seven billion people!"** Zenith shouted back. The team heard this, and could only watch as the two giants conversed. When they heard what it was that they were truly up against, they wondered if even Zenith were powerful enough to handle such a crisis. **"We were barely able to contain you, to neutralize you inside of the Land of Light. We should have destroyed you, right then and there. However, the Council saw you as sentient life-form, rather than just a plague. However, sentient or no, a plague is still a plague, in that all it wants is to spread its infestation to every corner of the universe. Even if it takes my life to do it, I will rectify what my predecessors had done."** Then, energy began to gather around Zenith, as he charged up another shot of his Mega Spacium Kousen. He fired the cross-shaped beam at the vile conglomeration of dead colonists, and the bodies flew apart in a flurry. When the thing was no more, Zenith slumped to the ground, his warning light flashing rapidly, the chime constant and urging. On a knee, he was breathing heavily, but was relieved that the menace was gone. Or, so he thought. He heard the unmistakable slurred laughter of the thing, and then, the bodies melded together to form the body once more. Zenith could hardly stand up, and fell to a knee once more. It laughed again.

"_**DDDooo yoooouuuuu ssseee nnnoooww? Iiittt iiisss pppoooiiinnntttllleeesss tttooo rrreeesssiiisssttt mmmeee. Yyyooouuu lllaaaccckkk ttthhheee pppooowwweeerrr nnneeeccceeesssaaarrryyy tttooo fffiiinnniiissshh ttthhheee jjjooobbb ttthhhaaattt yyyooouuurrr hhhaaaddd ssstttaaarrrttteeeddd. Ooonnnccceee III aaammm fffiiinnniiissshhheeeddd hhheeerrreee, III bbbeeellliiieeevvveee ttthhhaaattt III wwwiiilll gggooo aaannnddd ssseeetttllleee sssooommmeee ooolllddd dddeeebbbtttsss ttthhhaaattt III hhhaaaddd bbbeeennn wwwaaannntttiiinnnggg sssooo bbbaaadddlllyyy tttooo cccooollleeecccttt." **_The thing lumbered towards Zenith, as he was just kneeling there, unable to move. His warning light was flashing dangerously fast now, indicating how low he was on power.

'Now what?' he thinks. 'I threw my best shots at that thing, but since all it is, is just a bunch of dead bodies combined, it will just reform itself. What can I possibly do now?' Just as it was looming over Zenith. The thing raised a 'hand', and clenched it into a fist, and prepared to deliver it unto Zenith's skull. Suddenly, there was a bright flash of light, and a red and silver form slammed itself into the thing. It fell back, hollering its displeasure. When the light faded, Zenith was met with a most welcoming surprise; Ultrawoman Lillith was standing between him, and the horrible mass of dead bodies. Dropping her combat stance, she knelt next to Zenith.

"Lillith!" Slippy squealed happily. The rest of the team looked visibly relieved as well.

"Member Zenith, are you alright?" she asked in her distorted voice.

"I'm alright, Corpsman Lillith. But that doesn't change the fact that there's still that thing to deal with."

"And you forget, who it is that you have assisting you." she replied. Then, she took Zenith's arm, and closed the hand into a fist. Then, she placed an open hand on the fist, which started to glow a bright gold. The glow moved from the hand, then the arm, shoulder, and finally, stopped at the warning light. Then, the flashing light stopped, and shone a bright blue once more. Zenith stood up, with Lillith standing next to him. Zenith nodded on gratitude, which Lillith returned. The thing got over the initial shock, and bellowed with its many voices at the two red and silver aliens.

"Corpsman Lillith, do you think that your power will be able to contain that thing?" he asked. The Ultrawoman looked over to the Ultraman.

"It's only a disease, right? If you can distract it for awhile, I should be able to whip something up."

"That's all I needed to hear." Zenith said. With a shout, he launched himself at the thing once more, and tackled it to the ground. As the two got up and grappled with eachother, an aura of rainbow colors started to emanate from Lillith. After doing a series of flowing arm movements, she gently pushed her arms outward, and a gentle shower of multicolored light poured out, and engulfed the walking mass of bodies. The thing screamed with its many voices as it felt itself being penetrated by the healing light. It thrashed around, even as Zenith held it firm. Then, it was engulfed in light its form started to lose cohesiveness. Then, the whole body fell apart, leaving nothing but a floating ball of golden light, contained inside of blue sphere. Zenith knew at once, that the sentient cell had at last been recaptured. Both Ultras looked at eachother, then back at the sphere. They got on opposite ides of the sphere, and extended their arms to it. Held securely between them by telekinesis, the pair floated up, and actually passed through the cavern wall, as if it were not there. The team ran out of the cavern as fast as they could, and after donning the breathing equipment, they saw the two Ultras and the sphere leave the atmosphere, and enter space. Then, both Ultras pushed the sphere into the direction of the star Lylat, where the blue giant will consume the contagion, ending the threat forever. Satisfied, both Ultras turned back to Amador. The Great Fox had already left the atmosphere of the planet, and was headed for the destination of the two red and silver people. Both of them shrunk down to human size, and entered the hangar of the Great Fox. The team was waiting anxiously for the two of them, and when they finally touched down did they breathe a collective sigh if relief. Both reverted to their human forms, but it was Lillith who stumbled when she did so. Jim was quick to catch her, and was surrounded by the Star Fox team.

"I'm fine," Lillith replied, regaining her composure. "Just, I've never used that much energy all at once before."

"You did great, Corpsman." Jim said, smiling.

"Thanks, Garrison member." Lillith replied, also smiling.

"'Corpsman'?" Krystal asked, perplexed.

"Nickname we have for members of the Silver Cross Corp." Jim explained.

"The Silver Corp. what-now?" Falco asked. Lillith explained the Silver Cross to them. She told them how they were the healers, and the Space Garrison the warriors. And both were run by the Father and Mother of Ultra, who were the ruling bodies of the land of light. At least, for now they are.

"What do you mean 'for now'?" Fox asked. Lillith and Jim looked at eachother, but couldn't say.

"It doesn't matter. It doesn't concern the mission at hand. What does, is the Ultra who brought that disease here." Jim said, changing the subject as best he could.

"What makes you so sure that it was an Ultra who did that to the colony."

"It said that it brought here by means like myself. It meant that an Ultra brought it here, most likely intentionally."

"But who? Who would actually go and let loose a plague on a colony as out of the way as Amador?" Peppy asked. Lillith and Jim suspected the answer, but didn't voice their opinions, for fear of blowing Jim's cover. They both needed the team to be in the dark, until they can resolve this matter.

"We don't know. However, we should probably head back for Corneria, and report this to General Pepper. Then, we can focus on finding whoever did this." Jim said.

Corneria: He smiled. A figure in a cloak was standing in a wooded area on the planet known as Corneria. He smiled, knowing full well that the plague that was set loose had been handled by the pair. He had been told to deal with the Ultra Zenith, but now that the daughter of one of the council was here, defying orders, well, it will only sweeten the great victory that was swiftly approaching. Kronos smiled broadly, and said "Soon, soon you little bastard traitor, you will know true pain and misery."


	32. Zenith's Purpose

Sorry this took so long, but I was busy with my other stuff. Enjoy!

Chapter 32

Zenith's Purpose

Jim's eyes shot open, and he sat up in his bed. He looked around his room, and saw that it was darkened. He let his head fall to his hands, feeling exhausted. He looked over at the nightstand, and the clock read '2:05 a.m.', barely three hours after he fell asleep. He got up, and got dressed in his acu bottoms, boots, and a tan t-shirt. He still can't believe that he's kept them all this time, or that they themselves could bring back such memories such as his time spent on Earth. He's wondering, if he's even starting to lose his humanity. Jim wandered around through the hallways, until he reached the v.r. room. Used mainly for combat training, he often uses it to hone his fighting skills as an Ultra warrior. Normally, he'd have Krystal at the console, to help monitor his progress. But the vixen has a twisted sense of humor, as she constantly annoys him to no end by screwing with the simulation's programming. From having his appearance changed drastically, to having the Ultraman theme song blaring in his ears, tripping him up, there's always one little 'accident' happening when she was around. After entering the room, he set the controls on the automatic setting, and entered the v.r. room itself. The bare, white room shifted to that of a busy city street, filled with people going to and fro. However, these weren't the native Lylatians that he's gotten accustomed to over the course of ten and a half months, but humans. Though only hologram projections, Jim actually felt like he was back home again, amid his own kind. Then, they appeared. Dozens of alien craft just materialized in the air above the city. The people looked up, pointing at the sky, shock and fear apparent on their faces. Jim knew that they would be running soon, and he was proven right when one of the craft open fired on one of the buildings, destroying it, a shower of rubble and debris coming down the people. Jim took his Spacium Brace, and converted to Ultraman Zenith. In his standard form, Zenith looked up, and fired his Slash Beam at the alien ships, which were spherical, and had knobs and fins all over them. Several of them went down with the first blast, but evaded the second assault. Then, they bunched together into two groups, one group combined, while the other did likewise, except around the command ship, which was white in color, as opposed to the dark grey of the other ships. Zenith fired his Spacium Kousen at one of the groups, and succeeded in destroying about half of the group. However, while they were slower like this, they made up for it with greater fire-power. The bunch that Zenith attacked turned around, and fired a bright, white beam of energy. Zenith barely evaded out of the way, while the beam struck against a building, turning it into a blazing fireball. Zenith fired his Spacium Kousen again, this time succeeding in destroying the rest of the group. He focused on the other group, and it fired at him, hitting him in the chest, and sending him crashing into a building. The red and silver Ultra felt his chest light up with pain, as if it were on fire. Zenith looked up, and saw the bunch charge up for another shot. The Ultra acted quickly, and sent a shredding halo their way, cutting the lead ship, and group, in half. The two halves plunged to the earth, igniting into flaming debris and wreckage as they did so. However, out of the fire and smoke, rose the real opponent that Zenith was waiting for; Villa Seijin rose up to meet Zenith head on. The alien was crustacean-like in appearance, having a long, lobster-like trunk with legs sprouting out, just before the paddle-like fins did. It balanced itself on the legs, supporting its long, trunk-like body, and its head was little more than a flat surface with a mouth-like orifice with appendages around it, and glowing eyes on top. Zenith got into his battle stance, and was ready to take the invader head on. Villa fired a white beam from its mouth, which Zenith deftly evaded by somersaulting out of the way. The beam struck against a building, and was engulfed in flames. It fired its beam again, but Zenith deflected the beam with his light barrier. Villa lunged forward, its body curled up into a ball, and slammed into Zenith. The red and silver Ultra landed on his back, and looked up in time to see Villa loom over him. Zenith kicked out both legs, his feet colliding with the trunk of the alien. It fell back, and Zenith kicked out with his legs, coming back up on his feet again. Villa also rose up, recovering from the sudden counter-attack. Zenith decided to end it, right then and there. He converted to his 'Powered' mode, and got into his combat stance. Then, he charged up his Meganium Kousen, and fired the golden beam of destructive energy at the crustacean-like invader. In milliseconds, the alien was engulfed in flames, and reduced to ashes and a bad memory. Zenith looked around at the apparent destruction, and said in a distorted voice "End simulation." The room went back to its plain whiteness, and Zenith exited the room. He reverted back to Jim, who was covered in perspiration from the ordeal, and headed for his room. He hopped into the shower, and turned the water on, his thoughts running around his head as water ran down his body. At first, when the memories started to assert themselves, he had little knowledge to their meaning. But now, as he has regained his memories of his Ultra-self as Zenith, all he feels now, is regret. Regret for what he did, in releasing Gorzul from its prison all those years ago. Regret for what it is that was about to do to these people. However, now that he has been released from his previous mission, he now has the ability to act to protect these people. He just hopes that they don't find out what it was that he was going to do. After drying off, and getting on a fresh pair of clothes, he got back into bed. The time read '3:45'. He sighed, and turned over in his bed. He closed his eyes, wondering just what he was going to do to prevent, what could possibly be, the worst crisis that this reality has faced yet. He chuckled. With all of this going on, he's hardly ever thought about Gorzul lately. He knows that he's a bigger threat than the one that he's facing, but right now, that just seemed a million miles away from him. He closed his eyes, and tried to find some semblance of sleep.

Several hours later, in orbit around Corneria: The Great Fox was orbiting around the planet, with her crew mostly asleep, or just now beginning to awaken. One of these people, a young blue-furred vixen named Krystal, stirs from sleep. After yawning loudly, and wiping the sleep from her eyes, she groggily makes her way to the bathroom, and slips off the night gown she was wearing. She steps into the shower, and turns the water on, the warm liquid hitting her fur. She turns the temperature up, the sudden increase in temperature waking her up even more. After a good ten minutes, she turns the water, off, and with a towel wrapped around her body and head, steps out of the shower. Drying off, she pulls out the dress that Fox helped pick out for her. She laid it out on her bed, along with bra and panties. After brushing her hair so many times, brushing her teeth, etc. she slips the under-garments on, and then the deep-blue dress. She puts on the tiara and ring tails, and sees the time on her alarm clock. '9:05' she thinks to herself. 'I slept in a little.' Krystal walks out of the door, and nearly bumps into a still half-asleep Fox McCloud. Clad in a t-shirt and sweat pants, the vulpine almost walked right into the vixen. " Good morning, Fox." Krystal said, a slight smile on her vulpine features. Still drowsy, Fox muttered something, and went on his way to the kitchen. The blue-furred vixen giggled a bit, and followed Fox. The kitchen held all of the team members, except for one; Jim hadn't made himself known. Lillith, clad in sweat pants and a t-shirt looked over at Krystal, and asked her if she had seen him. "Probably still asleep. He's a lot like Fox in that way." she said, laughing slightly. Both ladies looked over at the team leader, who still looked half-asleep, sipping at a cup of coffee. Falco was no better off, but Peppy and Slippy seemed especially awake right now, carrying on a conversation at the table. "I suppose I'd better go wake him." Krystal said, going out of the door. Lillith caught up to her.

"My method should prove to be more…effective." she said, with a slight smile on her soft features.

"How so?" Krystal asked, raising an eyebrow.

"Just watch." she replied. After reaching his door, both girls tip-toed in, and saw the still comatose Jim in bed, sleeping. Suppressing a mischievous giggle as best she could, Lillith strode up to Jim's bed, and stood up to her full height, and cleared her throat.

"**ATTENTION, GARRISON MEMBER!"** she shouted in her deepest sounding voice. With a startled shout, Jim rolled off of the bed, and stood up to the position of attention in two seconds. He looked around, confusion on his face, and looked at a laughing Krystal and Lillith. His face turned red when he figured it out.

"You do know that it's an offense to impersonate a superior officer, Corpsman Lillith." he said, his tone going hard.

"Well, Garrison Member, I wouldn't have to do that, if you didn't sleep in so late." she said, still laughing.

"Late?" he asked, looking over at his clock. "It's not even 9:30 yet."

"Exactly! Everyone else is waiting for you in the kitchen! So move it, Garrison Member. Or would you rather have me report to Commander Zoffy about your lack of punctuality?" Lillith threatened, an evil grin on her features.

"You try, you die, Corpsman."

"No, _you_ try, _you_ die, Jim." Krystal retorted, getting right beside Lillith. Jim stared at her, agape.

"Whose side are you on, anyhow?" Jim shouted. Krystal giggled in reply, and stuck out her tongue playfully at him, with Lillith doing likewise. Just as they left, he was thinking 'Oh great, it's the 'chicks before dicks' theme.' Krystal was barely out the door when she read that thought. She turned, glared at Jim, and continued on. Jim shook his head ruefully, and got dressed in his uniform. After Jim made it to the kitchen, Fox and Falco had woken up, somewhat. Still clad in sweat pants and a shirt, both avian and vulpine looked like the walking dead, but seemed to be reviving as time went on. Slippy and Peppy were holding a conversation about techno-babble that Jim could care less to hear, and the two girls were nowhere to be seen. Jim sat next to Fox. The vulpine had a coffee cup in hand, and was sipping it at a leisurely pace. "You look real pleasant this morning." Jim said, smirking. Fox looked at him, sleepily, and said "Shut up," before going back to his coffee. Jim chuckled, and was overhearing the conversation between Peppy and Slippy.

"I'm telling ya, it's a good thing that we're getting back to Corneria. The fuel cells were startin' to run a little low. Not to mention we need to stock up on other supplies as well, and perform some much needed maintenance. This ship ain't like the old Great Fox."

"Well, if that pass goes through, you'll have at least three days to perform all the maintenance your little amphibian heart desires, Slippy." Peppy replied.

"What three days off?" Jim asked. Peppy turned to Jim.

"Oh, Fox talked to General Pepper, and he okayed some time off for us."

"Seriously?" Jim asked, raising an eyebrow. He couldn't believe it. They were in the middle of a war, and they're taking a vacation! He looked around at Fox and Falco. Suddenly, he realized that time off for these people might not be such a bad idea. For him, on the other hand, with the council stepping up their plans, and a well-known psychopath had just arrived in-reality, and most likely is in-system right now, Jim/Zenith just couldn't see himself taking some time off.

"Yeah. You, of all people, probably need it the most." Slippy said.

"What do you mean 'of all people'?" Jim asked, raising an eyebrow. Slippy tripped over his words as he tried to come up with a reply.

"Nothing. Just, well, with you being an Ultra and all, and you working the hardest, it's probably a good idea for you to relax a little bit."

"Right. I take it that Fox sent that report to General Pepper as well. About the…incident on Amador?" Fox's ears twitched slightly when he heard this, but otherwise kept still.

"I think so, why?" Peppy asked.

"Nothing. Just…nothing." Jim said, leaning back in the chair. His thoughts going to what the contagion had said, about being brought here to the Lylat system by another Ultra. Jim suspected that Kronos had brought it here. But for what, he didn't know. Then, Krystal and Lillith came in, carrying several plates of food on them. However, whereas Krystal held them with her hands, Lillith wasn't holding any at all. The plates floated around her, via telekinesis. The rest of the team looked, and stared agape at her, even Fox and Falco just woke up when they saw this. Jim, on the other hand, merely shook his head in disappointment. The plates floated above the table, then settled down at their proper place. Lillith sat next to Jim, who had a disapproving look on his face.

"What?" she asked.

"Really? You're seriously going to abuse your ability like that?" he asked.

"Hey, you got no room to talk, buddy." Lillith retorted. "At least I didn't sleep in, like some people."

"No, you just flounce your power about, like you're better than everyone else." he replied. Lillith was getting a little hot under the collar when he said this. "Well, I see that some things haven't changed since last we met."

"What's that supposed to mean?" she asked, her tone sounding threatening.

"You know what it means, Lillith. Remember when we were kids, and you used to show off to the others, doing things that we couldn't do, not until our own power matured? I think I was the only friend you ever had, at that point." Now, she was steaming. The blonde-haired nineteen year-old glared angrily at the twenty year old man, who sipped at the coffee cup, while everyone watched, waiting in silence for what will happen next. Lillith took in a deep breath, and smiled a bit.

"Says the boy dreamed of becoming the greatest fighter that the universe had ever seen."

"What do you mean?"

"I remember, how you often took on the bigger kids to prove just how tough you really were. In almost every case, you get beaten senseless." Falco sniggered at that, as did Fox. Peppy shook his head in amusement, and Slippy let out a slight giggle, as did Krystal.

"Well, not all of them." he replied calmly. Jim knew that it wouldn't do him any good to get riled up by her. She was, however, starting to get on his nerves.

"Really? What about me?"

"What about you?" he asked.

"Remember how you challenged me, and lost?" she asked, smiling slightly.

"Bull!" Jim almost shouted.

"It's true." she stated in a melodious way.

"Since when?" he asked.

"If you had your full memory, then you'd remember." she replied, still smiling.

"I did not fight you! Stop screwing around with me!" Jim said, his voice rising. Thus, the conversation, if it could be called a conversation, carried back and forth, to and fro, in between the two Ultra beings. A few hours later, Lillith was in her room, changing into a more appropriate attire. After getting the light yellow shirt on, there was a knock on her door. She answered, and was surprised to see Krystal standing there.

"Hi Krystal." Lillith said. The blue-furred vixen returned the greeting. Lillith stepped out of the doorway to allow Krystal in.

"There's something that I want to ask you."

"Okay."

"Did you really fight with Jim at some point?" Lillith gave her a funny look, then almost burst out laughing. "What's so funny?" Krystal asked.

"I said that, just to mess with him!" Lillith said, her laughing fit reduced to a giggle. Krystal joined in her laughter. After their laughter had died down, Lillith starting talking again. "Zenith and I have been friends since we were children. We were arranged to be married at birth, since both of our families were well known on M78."

"Well, I know about Jim's father being a hero on your world, but I don't know much about you, though. In fact, before you came along, he never really mentioned knowing anyone like you."

"I'm not surprised. When Zenith's consciousness was lost when he fused himself with a human child to save him, he lost all memory of who he was."

"Now, since he's regained his memory from Sheja's pendant, he seems to be turning into a whole new person. He's not the same boy that I met before on Earth. He just seems so….distant now. Preoccupied. He hardly notices me, and when he does, it's just not the same as it was before." Krystal said. Over the course of a few months, Jim had slowly gotten more and more detached from the rest of the team. Krystal noticed, and asked Jim about it. He said that it was nothing, just him trying to focus on the mission at hand. However, the blue-furred vixen didn't buy it. She knew that something was going on with him, but couldn't discern what. However, Since Jim told her about the spy that came from his world, it did shed some light on the subject, though not much. It didn't really explain the change in personality that occurred. She suspected that it had something to do with Zenith's memories coming back, but needed more proof. Whatever it was, she didn't like it.

"Well, that's common. Think of it, as like two people inside one body. You have Jim, the human boy that you know, and then there's Zenith re-manifesting himself inside of him. I think that your Jim is trying to become Zenith." Lillith explained.

Krystal's brow furrowed as she took this information in.

"But, why? Why is Jim trying to become something that he's not?"

"So he won't be alone anymore." Lillith said.

"What do you mean?"

"You told me that Jim's the last of his kind, same as you, right? If he becomes a full-blooded Ultra, which he is about to become soon, he may return to our reality and live among the other Ultras. It's the basic instinct to want to be reunited with his own kind." Krystal was starting to understand. And with that, she was starting to become afraid as well. Afraid of losing the one person that she could really connect with, even have a relationship with. It wa selfish of her, but it's what she felt nonetheless.

"What happens when he does become a full Ultra, and not just a hybrid?" she asked, fearful of the answer.

"The person, that you know as Jim, would be replaced with his new Ultra self. When that happens, he will return to home to the Land of Light."

"He has a home, right here!" Krystal said, almost shouting. Lillith almost took a step back from her. Is this what Jim was hiding, his wanting to go to the Land of Light permanently? "I can't lose him. Not like this. Not after all we've been through…" she sounded close to tears. Images of Jim gone for good flashed through her head, then the feeling of emptiness filled her, like when Fox introduced Fara to her. The feeling of loneliness threatened to swallow her. 'I can't lose him. He wouldn't do that to me, not after all that we've been through, not after what he said to me….' she thought, Jim's words ringing through her ears. 'I'll always come back to you.' But, now that Zenith was reasserting himself, was Jim slowly losing himself?

Jim's quarters: The Ultra/human sat in his chair, contemplating what all had happened, and what may happen. He was promised to be able to return home if things went smoothly, that he wouldn't be alone anymore. But, he saw that the price was just too great, for something that was totally insane. What's worse, is this feeling, this need to be reunited with the rest of the Ultra race. He's had this sensation since he's received Zenith's memories, and it was starting to tear at him. Bad enough he was feeling like this, but the mission that was given to him, when he first entered the outpost in this reality made it worse.

Six months ago: "You are to be reunited, with the rest of your race." Krystal was standing next to him, while he lied in bed. After his fight with the Deukellion, he felt weary, especially since it was the first time he really transformed to his full height. After the battle, the weariness got to him, and he collapsed from exhaustion. He received the news from Krystal, that an escort was waiting for him, to take him back to M78. Krystal was taking it a bit hard.

"I…see." Jim rose from the bed, with Krystal trying to help him up. He waved her away, telling her that he was fine. He walked, albeit rather uneasily, to the viewport. He stared out into space, as Krystal fought to keep her composure.

"I'm sure…that it's for the best." Jim heard the slight pain in her face, and turned to face her. She looked about to cry. Jim smiled warmly, and walked over to her.

"Do you still have the ring?" he asked.

"The…ring?"

"The ring that I gave you." he replied.

"I think so. Hold on." Krystal ran out of the infirmary, and to her room. Jim continued to look out of the viewport. His mind started to wander to what it is, that he will see in M78, the homeworld of the Ultras. Several moments later, Krystal came in. "Here it is." she said, holding her hand out, revealing the graduation ring that Jim got from basic training/AIT. He took it, and closed his hand over the ring. He closed his eyes, and his hand glowed scarlet. A few moments, he opened his eyes, and the glow faded. Jim opened his hand, and the ruby in the center of the ring pulsed with a light within. Jim handed the ring back to Krystal.

"What…did you…"

"Whenever you find yourself unable to protect those you care for the most, think of me while wearing the ring. Then, I will fight right beside you." Krystal embraced Jim then, tears starting to appear.

Several hours later, on Corneria: In front of the Cornerian Military Center, within the ring of buildings, the group waited. It was sunset, the sun dipping behind the mountain range to the west, turning the sky into a mix of orange and purple. The Star Fox team was behind him, as was General Pepper. The blood-hound was dressed in the red dress uniform, and had a lollipop in his mouth. Jim looked up, at the orange and red sky, feeling a presence coming. It wasn't long before Krystal felt it too, her ear flicking when she felt it with her sixth sense. Krystal looked up, with Fox following her gaze. Then, the whole group did so, and that's when they saw it; At first, it looked like a red star, but it seemed to swell with each passing second. Then, it became a red sphere, and was growing. It continued to descend to them, until it hovered a few feet off of the ground. The sphere glowed with a radiance, like a miniature sun. Jim smiled when he saw this, recognizing it as a Travel Sphere, the Ultras main method of traveling from system to system. It settled on the ground, a soft humming sound emanating from it. Then, from out of the sphere, walked a figure. It was slightly taller than Jim, and had a muscular build. When it came out of the sphere, Jim's breath caught in his throat, while the rest of the group gasped; it was an Ultra, looking almost exactly like Jim when he was an ultra, save for the round, shiny studs on his arms and chest. Jim recognized him right away, for only two Ultras that he's heard of has medals like that decorated in that fashion. "You are…Commander Zoffy."

"Yes, I am." Zoffy replied, his voice having a particular echo effect. "I have been sent to bring you to outpost that he have set up here in this part of the universe. Once there, we will discuss your future. We have been keeping an eye on you for quite some time…Zenith."

"Zenith?" Jim asked. Zoffy seemed to chuckle.

"I see that you do not remember. That part, about you being born from a human and Ultra, was merely an excuse. We want you back, for another reason. One that, if you are willing to undertake, will change the face of this universe, as well as ours."

"'Ours'?" Jim asked again.

"Again, all in due time. But for now, we must depart. Come." Zoffy turned and went back into the sphere. Jim was following, when he heard someone call his name. He turned, and saw Krystal standing in front of the group, tears present on her vulpine features. Jim smiled, and went over to embrace her. She held him tightly, afraid of losing him. Jim pulled away, and held the side of her face in a hand.

"I promise, that I will return to you. Keep the ring on, and I will come back." He took her hand, which had the ring, and placed his other hand over it. Then, he turned, and entered the travel sphere. Then, the sphere lifted off, taking with it the newest member of the Star Fox team. Inside of the travel sphere, Jim saw that the interior was like what he saw from the Ultraman series on Earth; shimmering red and gold and orange was all about him. He looked around him, not sure what to do, or to expect. "When will we arrive?" he asked.

"Soon. There, your questions will be answered." In seconds after hearing that, the haze in front of Jim seemed to fade, revealing the star-specked reaches of space. However, it was what was in front of them that held his attention. It looked like a star, but as it got closer to them, it swelled. It looked like a glowing ball, like a white sun. When it looked like that the Travel Sphere was going to collide with it, Jim shielded his eyes. A few moments had passed, and Jim dared to open his eyes. The haze had returned, and Zoffy's voice sounded throughout the Sphere; "We have arrived." The red and gold dissipated, to be replaced by swirling colors and light. The rainbow effect of the outpost swirled around him and all over him. Then, as if acting on its own, he converted to his Ultra form. He looked at himself, surprise evident as he looked down at himself in surprise. "Do not worry. That is the natural reaction when we enter an outpost in another form, Zenith."

"Don't call me that. My name is not Zenith, it's Jim." Jim stated plainly. Zoffy grunted in response. The messenger from the Land of Light stood as tall as Jim did in Ultra form.

"In any case, there is something of great import that I must tell you."

"And, what might that be?"

"The universe that you reside in, is in great danger. A threat that we had thought had been defeated by the forces of this reality is now rising, and growing in power with each passing moment. A danger, that was once sealed in M78, but had escaped to this universe. It was defeated here some time ago, and we had thought that we had seen the last of it, but such is not the case. In order to preserve the peace of this universe, there must be a Garrison Member here to patrol this space."

"You keep referring to this place as 'universe', or 'reality', as if you're not from here." Jim replied, his own voice echoing as well.

"That is because, we are not from this universe."

"What do mean by 'we'?" Jim asked.

"I mean you and I." Zoffy replied. Jim was speechless. He knew that he wasn't human, and from another world, other than Earth, but to hear that he is from another universe…

"Yo-you said that…there must be a Garrison Member here to help preserve the peace of this universe. Does that mean…me?"

"Yes. You are the only one right now who can take on this type of task."

"But why me? Why not someone more experienced, like Ultra Seven, or Ace, or Jack?" Jim asked, his voice rising in slight panic. What did he know about being an Ultra?

"Because, we are unable to send anyone to this reality at this time, and you are the only one who knows this universe well enough to traverse it, and have made a good impression with the indigenous life-forms."

"That's not the point! I don't know anything about being an Ultraman! I just fought, to protect my friends, that's all!" he replied, his voice rising. Zoffy was unflinching, understanding that this is quite a shock to the young man.

"That's what an Ultra does. He protects those he cares about, as well as those who cannot protect themselves. You have learned of us from the Earth that you had lived on, and learned of our ideals. I believe, that you would make an excellent addition to the Ultra Garrison." Jim looked away, not sure what to say. Then, he felt a hand on his shoulder. He looked up, and into Zoffy's glowing eyes. "All new members often feel this way. It is not something to be taken lightly. People can and will die, before this is over. As a soldier, you know that, it is inevitable. However, you can help these people by fighting for them, just as you would fight for Earth." Jim looked away, then looked up at Zoffy, and nodded. "Good. It will be some time, before you will make it back to Corneria. At your present state, it will take you a couple of weeks."

"How do you mean? Why can't you just transport me to Corneria, or why can't I use the travel sphere?"

"Your full power has yet to awaken. Because of that, your means of transportation are limited. You will have to get there the old fashioned way. It will be awhile, but will also allow you to develop your power as well. The longer you stay in your Ultra form, and in direct solar radiation, the stronger that you will get until you reach your full power. By the time you reach the Lylat System, you should be at your full strength." Jim looked down at himself. He raised a hand, and stared at it. He clenched it into a fist, and swung it down. He turned to Zoffy, and nodded, which the commander returned. "Right. Now go, Member Zenith. Safeguard the Lylat System and the universe." Jim left the outpost, and sped to the Lylat system. As the hours turned to days, he could feel the strength in him increase, just as Zoffy had told him. In a few weeks, he entered the Lylat System, and saw something that made his heart sink; a Bemstar was headed for one of the planets. It was already way ahead of him, and was closing in on a world not too far away.

'I'd have to stop it, before it harms anyone.' So, Jim gave chase to it. It resulted in a battle on Katina, and reuniting him with the Star Fox team.

As time went on, Fox grew wary of Jim, and even took his Spacium Brace from him so he couldn't transform. However, Jim and Krystal went to Sauria, to find out more about the reason why he was selected to protect the Lylat System. There, he found out about Gorzul, and even a new way to transform and save Krystal from a resurrected Galdon. Shortly thereafter, he went to Fortuna, and recovered the pendant that Sheja had, before engaging in a fierce duel with Dark Faust. Afterward, the duo made their way to Corneria, and that's where Jim received the full memory of Zenith. How he learned about how he released the demon of destruction, how it had gotten to the Lylat system, and about the real mission that the Ultra race had for him. That was what made him torn the most. Thinking about it now, all these months later, he couldn't help but feel responsible for bringing about the destruction of these people. And, in a way, he is. He shook such thoughts from his mind as Corneria entered the viewport. He looked down at it, and felt that twinge of guilt again. Knowing what he does, he knows that it will only be a matter of time before the planet will fall, and take the rest of the Lylat System with it, if the Council of Ultra succeeds in its mad plan. Then, he felt it, the presence that he hoped he wouldn't feel. And what's worse, is that he was on Corneria right now. "Oh no." he said, almost silently.

In Lillith's bedroom, the Ultra herself felt the same presence that Jim did, and dashed out of the room. "Lillith!" Krystal called. However, the blonde-haired girl was already gone. Jim ran into her.

"Lillith, ikzuu!" Jim said in Japanese.

"Hai!" Lillith responded. Both ran down the hallway to the hangar, followed by a Krystal who was trying to keep up with them. However, she was able to reach the hangar entrance in time to see them transform and fly out of the forcefield. Krystal brought her wristwatch communicator to her muzzle. "Fox, this is Krystal."

"Go ahead." Fox's voice sounded.

"Jim and Lillith just left the Great Fox, and are headed for the planet, in Ultra form."

"We're on our way! Don't go anywhere until we get there." Fox signed off, and got the rest of the team down to the hangar. Dressed in civilians, they were not prepared for a sortie. However, Fox, Slippy, Falco, Krystal, even Peppy hopped into an arwing. Falco keyed his comm to Peppy's.

"A little old to be flying around with us 'youngsters', aren't ya gramps?" the avian asked. Peppy smirked, and replied.

"Listen, sonny, even at my age, I can still fly circles around you. I graduated at the top of the class, when you were still in your egg! Heck, you may even learn something from this 'gramps', junior." Then, all five arwings shot out of the hangar, and towards the planet.

Corneria: On the planet, amid a field of grass and wild flowers, a cloaked figure stood. He looked about him, and felt regret well up. Regret, that such a beautiful world of potential was about tom be ravaged in his upcoming battle with the bastard traitor Zenith. He called him out, and like the whelp that he is, he answered the challenge. And what's more, Lillith is also on her way. Then, he saw the twin balls of light descend in front of them, and land. They dissipated, revealing their occupants to the Ultra. "So, the traitor decides to challenge the hero." Kronos said.

"Remind us, which of us is the traitor and hero again?" Lillith said, a scowl on her face, matching Jim's. Kronos chuckled at this.

"Don't worry, little trollop. I'll get to you yet."

"What did you just call me?" she shouted at him. Kronos laughed at this, revealing a part of his face underneath his hood.

"Leave her out of this, Kronos. This is between you and me." Jim said.

"How very true. Tell me, though, do your friends know what you are about? Did you tell them about your real mission here?" he asked, not losing his grin. Jim remained stoic.

"No, of course you didn't. Why would you? You're practically one of them, anyway. I suppose it's all thanks to that one native. What was her name again? The one with the uniquely blue-shaded fur? Krystal?" Jim's face just tightened, and he curled his lip back slightly into a snarl when he said her name. "Ah, yes. That's the one. The one who turned you against the Ultra race, your own people. And through that betrayal, you corrupted another member of our race as well. And for that, you must be…corrected." Kronos took a step forward, and stopped. He looked up into the sky, with Jim and Lillith following his gaze. Then, they saw them; five shapes coming down towards them. Jim felt his heart sink, and Lillith let out a groan, whereas Kronos smiled underneath his hood. "Well well. Looks like the gang's all here." Then, moments later, the five arwings landed next to the three Ultras, and the pilots jumped out of their fighters. The Star Fox team gathered around the two Ultras, and faced the cloaked figure. He laughed heartily when he saw this. "Oh, how perfect. I get to wipe you all out with one stroke!"

"Who the hell is this guy?" Falco asked.

"You will show me proper respect, you insignificant evolutionary mistake!" Kronos snarled. Then, he gripped his cloak, and threw it off of him, revealing a muscular build. The Star Fox team gasped when they saw him, except for Jim and Lillith. The figure underneath the hood was human, at least on the outside. His build was large, at least six-foot, and was covered in the traditional garb of the Ultras when they were not in their evolved forms, that of a tan tunic, black vest, tan pants and boots, with a black belt. However, he had a type of staff or spear attached to his back. His face suggested he was middle-aged, by the slight graying on his side-burns, and a masculine face with a broad chin, and hawk-like features covered in various scars. All the while, he just smiled at them. "Now, you little traitor, prepare to die." The team looked at Jim, who walked forward. Then, Kronos's form just glowed, and he converted to his Ultra form. It was slightly taller than his human form, with the red and silver patterns common to most Ultras, save for the V-shaped black stripe going over his chest and abdomen. Jim raised his Spacium Brace, where it flashed once, then placed it over his heart, with his left hand placed over it. Then, he threw his arms out crucifix style, and shouted "GAIYO!" then, his body was engulfed in a red glow, and he converted to his Ultra form. Both Ultras got into their battle stance, and circled eachother.

"Just who is this guy? Is he an Ultra?" Fox asked aloud.

"Yes, he is. He's said to be one of the most powerful warriors in the Land of Light. He's infamous for being brutal to his opponents." Lillith explained. "His name, is Kronos."

"What does he want with Jim." Slippy asked. Then, it hit Krystal.

"He's the one, isn't he? Kronos is the spy that Jim was talking about."

"Spy, what spy?" Fox asked. Then, both Ultras engaged eachother. Kronos threw a punch, which Zenith evaded, and came up with an uppercut, catching his foe in the chin, and making him stumble back. He executed a spin-kick, but Kronos caught it, and dropped his elbow on Zenith's thigh, making him grunt in pain. Then, he threw Zenith away from him. Zenith landed on the grass several yards away, with Kronos advancing on him. Krystal drew his blaster, as did the rest of the team, except for Lillith, who stand in front of them.

"What are you doing, Lillith? Jim needs our help!" Krystal shouted.

"This is between Zenith and Kronos. If you interfere in any way, they may turn on you."

"Jim would never turn on us!" Slippy said.

"If only you knew what this was about, you may not think that." Lillith said, casting her face away from them.

"What do you mean, Lillith?" Fox asked.

"Krystal, what all did Zenith tell you? You said that Kronos was the spy. Is that what he told you?"

"Yes. He said that there was a traitor among the Ultras, who were planning on using some sort of weapon, or artifact in this system. For what, though, he doesn't know."

"When did he tell you this?" Fox demanded.

"A week ago. He didn't want me to tell you, because at that time, he didn't know who the spy was. He said that all of the warriors were put on the alert."

"I see. So, that's what he told you." Lillith said, not meeting their gaze. Behind her, the war between the two Ultras wages. Zenith converted to his 'Powered' form, and was locked in a hand to hand duel between Kronos, with neither seeming to get the upper hand on the other. "What he told you, was partially true. There is an artifact of untold power, but it's not in the way that you think."

"What do you mean?" Fox asked.

"Lillith! Don't tell them!" Zenith called behind them. Then, he got hit in the face by Kronos's fist, and sent flying. Krystal gasped, and tried to run, but Lillith stopped her.

"So, you never really did tell them, did you?" Kronos asked, his voice distorted. He walked over to Zenith's limp body, and grabbed his facedown head in his grasp. He lifted it up, just enough so he could see the other Star Fox team members. "Very well, I will tell you. There is a traitor, here, and his name is Ultraman Zenith! AKA, the one you call Jim!"" Kronos shouted.

"What?" Krystal asked.

"It's true. His true mission, was not to help you people, but to correct the very mistake that he had made!"

"If you're talking about Gorzul, then don't waste your breath! We already know all about it! We know what he did back then, and what you people did to him! If that's what this is about, then you're the traitor here, not him!" Fox shouted. Kronos chuckled in response.

"Did he tell you what happened afterward, after Gorzul made its way to this universe?"

"That Sheja died, and that he found Earth and merged with a human child named Jim to save his life!" Krystal answered. Kronos looked down at Zenith.

"Is that all you told them?" he asked. He grabbed Zenith by the neck, and lifted him to his eye-level, his feet leaving the ground. "You truly are pathetic." he said. He threw a fist at Zenith's gut, making him groan in pain, and threw him at the Star Fox team. He fell limply in front of them, and they could only watch, as he stumbled to his feet. He got to a knee, groaning in pain with each breath as his ribs inflamed with pain. He got to his feet, but looked ready to drop. Kronos laughed. "You never told them your true mission for being here. Your real assignment." he gestured to Zenith. Then, he pointed to the Star Fox team. "Very well, I'll tell you on his behalf. He was really here to gather information on you. While he spent his time here, he also sent data about your race to the Ultra council, detailing your civilization for preparation."

"Preparation for what?" Fox shouted.

"Annihilation!" Kronos returned. The rest of the team was stunned, except for Lillith, who just turned away from the rest of the team.

"What are you talking about?" Fox shouted.

"when Zenith brought Gorzul to this universe, it did something to the timeline. It traveled back, several thousand years into your past, and wiped out the human population, replacing it with your species."

"What?" Fox asked. "Several…thousand years?"

"Exactly. We Ultras don't age like you do. Our life spans are several thousand times greater than yours. Roughly twenty thousand years ago, Zenith, Sheja, and Gorzul came here. Sheja was acting patrolman at the time, protecting the human race here from harm. However, during a fierce fight, Sheja was killed, but not before Zenith, still a child, put his memories and a part of his spirit in Sheja's amulet. Then, Sheja flung him away from the battle, just before he died. All this time, Zenith wandered the universe, never being able to return home, to the Land of Light. You cannot imagine the loneliness he was put through. He thought about killing himself, to rid him of the agonizing isolation. But, we Ultras are hard to kill. Then, one day, thousands of years later, he stumbled upon the Earth, which held a similar race to the one that was killed off ten millennia ago. Almost fully grown, he descended to the planet, and fused his life-force with that of a dying child, sealing away his consciousness. However, when he regained Sheja's memories, he also received some new instructions. After your race evolved into what it is today, we knew that Zenith would look for who he truly was when he regained his memory. So, we implanted a special order to tell him to send available data to us, pertaining your strengths and weaknesses, your military strength, and how large of a force you had. All the while, he knew that we planned to wipe you all out. However, he lost his nerve about halfway, and tried to pull out. I'm just showing him what happens when one gets ideas like that." Zenith turned to face the Star Fox team, who looked at him with a mix of emotions. They couldn't believe that their own teammate would be in a plot like this. "He knew about the order, and tried to rebel against it. However, we offered him something that he couldn't refuse. We told him, that he would be able to return to the Land of Light, as a hero. He would be able to come home to us." Zenith just looked at them, then turned away, unable to meet their gaze. "In other words, he was selling you out to us!"

"No! that's a lie! Jim would never do that to us! He would never!" Krystal shouted. "Jim, tell him he's wrong! Tell him that you're no traitor!" Zenith would not meet his gaze. "Jim? He's wrong, isn't he? He…you wouldn't…would you?" Krystal asked. Then, Jim reverted back to his human form, and looked Krystal in the eye, then to all of the other Star Fox team members.

"I'm sorry. I'm so sorry that you all had to be dragged into this. I didn't want you to know, because I was hoping to resolve all of this before anything happened. But, I guess, karma has a way of twisting things, huh?" Krystal gasped as Jim looked at her, tears forming in his own eyes.

"No…no… Jim, you couldn't do that to us. Why? Why would you betray us like this?" she shouted.

"Because, I was promised to not be alone anymore. As the last of the human race, and an Ultra who had been banished, I was more alone than even you could imagine."

"But you were not alone! You were never alone! You had me! You had us! I am the last of my kind, and-"

"Oh, just stop it!" Jim shouted, and Krystal shut her mouth. "You yourself were never alone! Look around you! You had fellow anthros like yourself all around you! They may not have blue fur like you, But at least you were able to pass off for normal! Why? Because you are one yourself!" he cried, tears coming down his face. "I was more alone here than you could ever be! And I hated it! I buried it deep down, and tried not to show it, but I hated it, more so than I hated you people!"

"You…hated us?" Krystal asked. Tears were starting to form in her emerald eyes.

"I hated you, because of my loneliness. I blamed you, Krystal. I had to blame somebody, so I blamed you for my being this way." Tears were coming more freely now from both of them. "After I had received my orders, and the promise to return home, I was ecstatic. However, I began to realize how wrong it was that they were doing. So, I pulled out, along with several other Ultras who supported me. I knew that, by doing this, I would never be able to go to the Land of Light. And when this was over, I was going to leave, never to see you people again. I'd rather be devoid of all contact with sentient races, than go to another race with a different face from my own. My own loneliness and isolation, the feeling that I felt, I kept it a secret from you, because I knew that there would be no way for you to help me."

"But, what about your shape-changing abilities? Couldn't you just turn into one of us?" Slippy asked.

"It doesn't work that way." Lillith said.

"What do you mean?" Slippy asked, all eyes on her.

"Even though he would have the form, he could never become a true member of the Lylat race. Also, being in a guise for so long is strenuous on our bodies. We can only use the form of another race for awhile before we have to return to the Land of Light to recover from the ordeal. If he took on the form, he would only live for about twelve months or so before wearing down and die."

"So you see, either way, I'd be alone among you. I'd have no one else to turn to, no one else to relate to. I'd be isolated among you all." Jim said, his face lowering. His eyes were covered by his head, as the tears fell to the ground. Suddenly, it made sense. Why he was distant from the others, why he hardly ever looked at her. They were a constant reminder, that he would always be alone in the universe. Even if he made a disguise based off of them, it could never become permanent. His loneliness was eating him up on the inside, and he blamed all those around him. He even blamed her. Due to his being an Ultra, his mental defenses were so that she could not read him anymore, not without him dropping his guard consciously for her to know what it was that he was thinking. He bottled it all up inside, and it got as bad as it did. And offering a chance for him to be with his own kind, it just brought about the perfect opportunity. However, somewhere along the line, he must have had a change of heart, and tried to correct his mistakes, only for the people, who once thought that he cared about them, to find out what it was that he was trying to do. But still, one question remained, and Peppy was the one to ask it.

"You said that you people were going to annihilate us. How, and for what purpose?" Kronos gladly answered that. He enjoyed the show being put on tremendously, but couldn't resist anymore.

"So we can wipe out the mistake that Zenith had made. When Gorzul destroyed the human race, it allowed your people to evolve." A thought hit Krystal.

'That explains the statue on Sauria, and how the dinosaurs knew about Jim being and Ultra! But, what do they plan to do next?' she wondered.

"After that, we plan on using an artifact to correct that mistake that Zenith made. We are going to use its power, to bring back the human race! Once your stinking people are gone, we are going to warp the barriers between time and space, and bring the human race to this era, saving them from destruction!" Kronos shouted.

"So that's it! You sold us out to bring back your dead race!" Fox shouted at Jim, who still couldn't look his way, but replied nonetheless.

"I didn't know what they were planning to do at the time. They told me to gather info on you, and send it back to them. If I did that, then I'd be able to return home. However, once I figured it out, I questioned my superior about it, and they agreed. So me, Mebius, Hikari, Zoffy, and even Lillith here tried to stop them. We know that there are others on the Land of Light who agree with us, but too few to do any good. But still, despite my feelings towards you, I decided to stop them for you. I know that, no matter what, you cannot kill an existing race just to bring back a dead one!" with that, Jim whirled, and converted to his Ultra form again. Then, he rushed at Kronos, and grabbed him around the waist. Kronos tried to dislodge him from himself, but couldn't. Then, Zenith's form stated to glow. The glow turned to flames, and soon, it looked like Zenith was on fire. Kronos recognized the technique at once, as did Lillith. She turned to face the other team members.

"We need to get out of here! He's about to use the Ultra Dynamite Attack!"

"The what?" Falco asked.

"It's a really dangerous move. Zenith is going to gather all of his energy, then release it in an explosion. It will be like a sun going nova! More than one Ultra died from using that move."

"Why's he using such a risky move?" Fox asked.

"He's going to take Kronos down, and end his own life in the process."

"He can't do that!" Krystal shouted. The flames grew larger from Zenith, as Kronos tried desperately to get the Ultra off of him. "Jim, please! You don't need to do this! We can talk about this! Don't take your own life like this! I don't care about the fact that you did what you did! When you told me about Gorzul, you told me that you were afraid that I would hate you for it. But I didn't, and I don't hate you even now! I still want you, Jim! I want you in my life!" But Zenith did not cease. He looked back at Krystal, and sent her a telepathic message.

'Krystal, I'm sorry that I hurt you so. I don't deserve someone like you. You don't want someone who feels sorry for himself and hateful to everyone around him. You deserve better than that. With this act, I can make sure that you can find that person.' Then, he sent a message to Lillith. 'Tell commander Zoffy, that my mission was a success, Corpsman Lillith.' Lillith nodded in response. Then, Zenith rose up, and grabbed Kronos by the arms, and said "If I go to hell, Kronos, I'll be DRAGGING YOU DOWN WITH ME!" And with a mighty "HYYAAAAHHHH!" both Zenith and Kronos were engulfed in a fiery explosion. Lillith barely had time to convert to her Ultra form, and put up a barrier to protect them from the blast. Everyone averted their eyes, everyone but Krystal, who could not tear her eyes away from the fireball. She had just watch her close friend commit suicide to protect them. She couldn't help, but cry. She slumped to the ground, and let her tears fall freely. When the explosion finally subsided, there was nothing left of their passing, except a scorched, barren piece of Earth where the two Ultras once stood. Lillith lowered the shield, and the team looked on. Krystal felt hollow inside, empty. The one person that she felt that she could connect with had killed himself, to protect them. He hated them, and sold them out, but tried to redeem himself by giving his life for theirs. Nothing could change that. She let her head fall, and the tears resumed. That's when she felt it. She looked up, and saw the same thing that everyone else saw; red specks of light coming together to form a ball of light. Then the light took on a shape, and it became one that Krystal almost cheered for joy. Zenith was standing before them, his arms in a flexing position. Then, his arms dropped, and he fell to his knees, groaning in pain and exhaustion. His warning light was going at a fast pace. Then, he reverted back to his human form, and collapsed. Krystal ran past Lillith, and to Jim. She held him, and shook his form, trying to wake him up, calling his name.

"It won't work, he's…" Lillith began, but Krystal cut her off.

"HE'S NOT DEAD! You saw him come back, he's not dead! He can't be dead." Krystal buried her muzzle in Jim's chest, and sobbed. Then, she felt it. A pulse. Faint, barely there, but a pulse nonetheless. Lillith also sensed it, and knelt beside him. She placed a hand over his body, using her power to see his condition.

"He's alive, but just barely. We need to get him out of here now!" With that, Lillith brought about her travel sphere, and placed Jim inside of it. Then, she entered it, and flew off into space towards the Great Fox. The rest of the team followed suit, with Krystal still having tears burning her eyes.

'Don't you die, Jim. Don't you dare die.' she think to herself.

On Corneria, another presence is around. And sensing the others are gone, Kronos also materializes out of thin air. In his human form, he looked wounded, holding his right shoulder in pain as his arm hung limply by his side. 'Damn! That little runt took out a bigger chunk than I'd like. Well, at least he'll be out of the way long enough to carry out my mission. The other Ultras will be no match for me, so taking out the race here will be all too easy. And then, we can bring back the human race.' with that thought in mind, Kronos converted to his Ultra form, and flew out into space, to recharge himself in Lylat's solar energy.


	33. Redemption of the Damned

Chapter 33

Redemption of the Damned

He was numb. From the head down, he was numb, and sore at the same time. He wanted to open his eyes, but couldn't find the strength or will to do it. So, he slipped back into unconsciousness, and waited.

Krystal stood beside the bed that Jim was on. After being rushed to the infirmary after his fight with Kronos, the blue-furred vixen had stayed beside him for hours now. His words still rung in her ears; 'I hated you. I blamed you for my loneliness. I had to blame somebody, so I blamed you! My own loneliness and isolation, the feelings that I felt, kept it hidden from you, because I knew that there was no way for you to help me.' Krystal felt her eyes burn with tears again, and tried to keep them down. 'You're wrong, Jim. I could help you. I could, and I still can, but only if you let me. You have to let me help you. So please, let me in.' Krystal placed her hand over his, and the tears rolled down her face.

In the conference room, Fox, Falco, Peppy, Slippy, and Lillith were waiting for Mebius and Hikari to appear. Lillith sent them a message not too long ago, asking for the two Warriors of Light to come to the Great Fox. And sure enough, the red and blue Ultras appeared. They were in their human size, and were flying for the Great Fox. After entering the hangar bay, they reverted to their Lylatian disguises. Mirai and Serizawa entered the conference room, where a handful of dour looking Lylatians waited, along with a downcast Lillith.

"Something wrong?" Mirai asked.

"I'll say. It's got something to do with Jim, and his true mission." Falco said, snarling. Mirai and Serizawa looked at one another, before Lillith answered.

"They found out about Zenith, during a duel between him and Kronos."

"What? Then…Kronos is already…"

"Forget about Kronos! You jerks knew about this, and you didn't say anything!" Fox shouted. "You knew that Jim was plotting against us, and you knew that your race was planning on killing us all, to bring back your precious human race! Right now, I'm doing all I can to keep myself from killing Jim right now!"

"Alright. Maybe we should've told you. But Zenith didn't want you to know."

"Why? Why did he keep this a secret from us, aside from the glaringly obvious?"

"Because, Fox, If you knew, then the Council of Ultra would have sped up their timetable. If that had happened, then there would've been no way to protect you. True that Zenith was in on the plot against you, at first, but he had a change of heart. After being exposed to your civilization, he decided to do what any Garrison member would do. He decided to protect you. He saw that your race and the humans were not too different from one another. So, he pulled out of the Council's scheme, and fought back against them, even though he knew that by doing so he'd never be able to return to the Land of Light." Serizawa explained. "However, being as alone as he was, could you really blame him?"

"But he was never alone!" Krystal said. The two Ultras spun around in surprise, and looked at the blue-furred vixen. Krystal came in, shortly after Mirai and Hikari did, but no one noticed her, until now. "You claim that he was alone. Well, he wasn't. He had us, and me, to rely on. He was surrounded by friends ever since he left Earth, and it was destroyed. I was alone, like Jim was, but I was found by Fox, and was accepted by the team. Why can't he do the same?"

"Because he was more alone, than even you were." Serizawa said.

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"Krystal, take a good, long look at your teammates, then take a long look at yourself. They are all anthropomorphic, same as you. True, that you are the last of a _unique_ race of anthros, you were never truly alone. I've even heard that your genetic structure is identical to the Lylatians, save for some scant differences. Zenith, or Jim as you call him, is not. He's a human, and an Ultra. Even though you claimed to be alone, he will be more alone than you can imagine. Can you blame him for feeling that way." Krystal looked at Fox, Slippy, Falco, and Peppy, then looked down at herself, at her hands. She was beginning to understand. She remembered how everyone looked and stared at him as he walked down the street. They still do it to this day. She got only half of what Jim had. People did stare at her, but then got used to her. Jim was a human, and drastically different from most known forms of life. Even the races outside of the Lylat System that come here were anthropomorphic in some way. Jim, would be alone among billions of people. How could he not feel this way? Even so, he buried it all deep down. He kept it hidden, even from her, and it got as bad as it did. He said that, she wouldn't be able to help him, even if she did find out. She thought him wrong, but now, after hearing what Serizawa had said, would she be able to help him? "However, he saw that your race and the humans' were not so different after all. In fact, the real difference is only skin deep. Seeing this, he decided to help you."

"But, when? When did Jim decide to plot against us?" Peppy asked.

"It was roughly around the same time that he found Sheja's pendant, when he regained his memories. Somehow, the Council was able to input secret orders for Zenith to send all available data that he had gathered to them. However, when he found out what it was that they were doing, he fought back."

"What is it that the Council is really planning? Kronos said it was to bring back the dead human race from thousands of years ago, but why?" Peppy asked.

"Since Gorzul destroyed the ancient civilization several millennia ago, it allowed your race to evolve and grow. But, the Council of Ultra saw your race as one that should never have been born. They saw you, as the result of a mistake that should never have happened. They decided to wipe your race out, and replace it with the one that they feel should rightly exist in this world."

"That's insane!" Falco shouted.

"Zenith agreed with you. When he found out, he was angered, more so than just at being alone. He decided that, it would be better for him to spend the rest of his life alone than to play a hand in your extinction."

"But, you said that he was in on their plan." Fox said.

"He didn't know. All he was ordered to do was to gather intelligence on you. The Council never told him why, for fear that he would do the exact same thing that he's doing now, rebel against them."

"Jim said that, there were others that feel the same way as you do." Fox said.

"There are. Father and Mother of Ultra, the ruling heads of the Land of Light, agree with Zenith whole heartedly, and the Ultra Brothers are with him as well. Even so, the Council of Ultra still holds much sway over the people of M78. In order for this to be stopped once and for all, the whole of the Ultra race must agree to preserve your kind. Otherwise, even if we are successful in stopping them here and now, they will return in the future, and with a greater chance of success than before."

"But, why didn't he tell us this?"

"Because he was afraid that you would see him as a benefactor in your destruction. That was not what he wanted. And, despite our better judgment, we agreed with him. So, we had agreed to keep this a secret from you, and try to resolve this matter without involving you. And, after hearing this, could you really blame him for keeping it from you?" Mirai asked. Inside, the Star Fox team felt the same way. If the situation were reversed, would they have acted any differently? However, even if they do know about the Council's plans, what can they do now?

"Mirai, you said that if we knew about the Council's plot, they would speed up their plans. So, how much time do we have?" Fox asked.

"Precious little, I am afraid. If Kronos is here, then it wouldn't matter if you knew or not. The sole reason why he is here is to be a vanguard for the Council."

"Another thing. Just who is this Kronos character. We saw him thrash Jim around like a rag doll earlier."

"A very demented Ultra. How one like him became a member of the Space Garrison is beyond me." Serizawa said. "He's one of the strongest warriors that we have. Ruthless and merciless, his strength is said to rival even Commander Zoffy's. With this said, it is little wonder why he is also called the 'Angel of Death' by his enemies."

"Is there a way to beat him?" Fox asked.

"Like any Ultra, he is extremely hard to defeat. However, he shares a weakness that we all share."

"The warning light…" Krystal said. Serizawa and Mirai nodded.

"If his warning light is damaged, then he will fall. Another way, would be to cut off his supply of solar energy. However, due to your planet's atmosphere and Lylat, your star, we are able to survive indefinitely on Corneria, which is where the battle will be held."

"What does it matter, anyway?" Falco asked. "We saw Jim use that 'Ultra Dynamite' thing. That guys nothing more than a bad memory." The rest of the team remember this, but Serizawa cut them off.

"I wish that I could agree with you, but Kronos' power is fearsome enough to withstand that attack."

"You must be joking! That jerk's still alive, even after all that?" the avian shouted.

"As I have said before, we Ultras are hard to kill, and Kronos is exceptionally powerful even among us." Mirai said. "In fact, he is the one who is tasked with your annihilation."

"What?"

"Kronos was picked by the Council to single handedly destroy you all."

"He can do that?" Krystal asked.

"It would not be the first time. More than one race has fallen to him. True, that they were malevolent themselves, but they did not deserve to go the way that they did. The sole reason why he's still a member of the Garrison, is because the Council kept him on."

"I take it he answers only to them, then." Peppy asked.

"Exactly. He is their tool of destruction. He destroys races the Council deem 'hazardous', or 'abominable'. His loyalties have always lied with them."

"So, what do we do?" Fox asked. "We can't just sit around, and wait for Armageddon."

"One other thing has been bugging me. What's this so-called artifact that they plan to use?" Fox asked. Krystal answered for him, telling him what Jim told her, concerning about the race that the Ultras had faced and defeated, and obtaining the weapon that they were going to use at the time. Serizawa and Mirai were impressed.

"We didn't know he told you that much." Mirai said. Krystal smiled sheepishly.

"We had hoped that the weapon was destroyed, long ago. But, I suppose the Council thought it would be useful someday. And it looks like that day is coming."

"But, what about Jim? He hasn't so much as twitched since we brought him back." Krystal asked.

"Don't worry. After using the Ultra Dynamite for the first time, it's a miracle that he's alive right now. He's just really low on energy."

"I'm still surprised he was able to use it. Isn't that a technique only a skilled warrior is able to pull off?" Lillith asked.

"Yes. However, he must have wanted to protect you people that badly, that he was willing to do the impossible. Especially for you, Krystal." Mirai said, gesturing to the blue-furred vixen. Krystal blushed slightly when she heard this. Despite his words, Jim still cared for her.

"Ah, young love." Falco said, having a mock-dreamy look on his avian visage. His comment snapped Krystal out of her thought, and she blushed in embarrassment. Falco laughed aloud when he saw her, but didn't see Lillith's fist slam itself into his beak, knocking him off of his chair and sprawling him on the floor, unconscious.

"Man, he deserved that." Lillith said, cracking her knuckles.

'I'm in love,' Slippy thought with a smile on his amphibian face. Krystal smiled at her direction, and Lillith returned it. Falco was coming around, and was holding his beak in apparent pain.

"What the heck was that for?" he nearly shouted. Lillith strode over to Falco, and stood over him. She gripped him by his collar, and brought her face just inches to his.

"Listen, chicken boy. If there's one thing that I hate more, it's asswipes like you who poke fun at a girls' emotions. If I see you do that again, for _any_ reason, I will disembowel you with my bare hands. Understood?" Her eyes were burning with a fury that sent shivers down the avian's spine. He quickly nodded, and she released him. He slinked back to his chair, and kept quiet after that.

'I stand corrected. _Now_ I'm in love.' Slippy thought. Lillith picked up his thoughts, and smiled herself. Despite his outward appearance, she did find the little amphibian charming in his own way.

Infirmary at that time: Jim slowly opened his eyes, and looked around. He was in the infirmary, that much he knew. Still dressed in his uniform, minus the top, he tried to sit up, but found it extremely hard to do so. Then, his mind went to the battle before. His duel with Kronos was far from good. The Ultra tossed him around like he was next to nothing. He knows that Kronos is still alive, and is preparing for his assault on Corneria. He knows that they don't stand a chance against him. But, they will fight anyway, just any sentient being would fight for his home. 'Home. It's been so long since I've ever believed in that word. I've often called this place home, but the word was often empty and hollow.' Jim thought, a tear forming in his eye and streaming down the side of his face. His energy was returning, but only at a snail's pace. He knew that it would not renew itself, not before Kronos enacts his reign of destruction. But still, through it all, he hopes that his friends can forgive him for what he has done. Then, he closed his eyes, and started to drift back to a dreamless sleep. Krystal came in, just shortly after. She walked over to Jim's bed, and sat down in the chair next to him. 'Jim, please wake up. We need you now, I need you now, probably more than ever.' However, he did not stir. Krystal placed her hand on Jim's, and grasped it tightly, hoping that he would feel it.

In front of the Star of Lylat: Kronos was charging his body full of energy. He was wounded from Zenith's Ultra Dynamite, but survived, as he thought he would. However, he didn't expect Zenith to be that powerful. If he had enough time to train, he could rival even he in terms of power. That, would be inexcusable. Only he would be allowed to be the most powerful Ultra. If he did as the Council had commanded, he will take command of the Ultra Garrison, and the Ultra Brothers, and would shape them as he saw fit. He saw them as weak, being compassionate towards others, including to their enemies. 'Enemies exist to be destroyed, nothing more,' he thinks. Ever since he could remember, he had strived to be the best. He remembers how he went up against Zoffy, for command of the Ultra Brothers. He also remembers, how Zoffy defeated him. The memory of that day burns in him. And what burns even more, were Father of Ultra's words; 'The reason why you lost, Garrison member, is because you rely on power too much. Power is a double-edged sword, in that it can be a bane as a blessing. Zoffy, with his skill and power, was easily your better in combat.' He would show them. He would show them all what happens when one trifles with Ultraman Kronos. He feels the solar energy fill his being. Then, he turns and heads for Corneria. If he could, he'd be smiling right now.

On the Great Fox, Fox McCloud sent a message to General Pepper, telling him that a very dangerous entity was on its way to the planet. When he asked what it was, Fox told him it was an Ultra. "An Ultra. But I thought that they were on our side." Pepper said, perplexed.

"Well, this one isn't General. Get the army on stand by."

"Will do, Fox. What will you do?"

"Meet it on the frontline. It'll be here soon, and I doubt that we can stop it from reaching the planet."

"Got it. Be careful, McCloud." Pepper signed off, his disembodied head fading to nothingness. Fox sighed heavily, and placed his thumb and forefinger in between his eyes. He wondered, just how they were going to get out of this one. They relied heavily on Jim up till now. However, he was out of commission. He threw everything he had at him, but he only wounded him, buying them some time. He wondered, just how much time they had. In the infirmary, Krystal had not moved from her spot by Jim's side. The door opened, and Mirai and Serizawa walked in. "We wanted to see if he was alright." Mirai said. Krystal looked up at them, a wan smile on her canine features.

"Can you help him?" she asked, hopeful. Mirai had a downcast look.

"Sadly, even if we pooled our strength together, we would have the power necessary to revive him. However, we can speed up the healing process, if only by a little bit." Then, both Ultras, while they were in their anthro guise, walked to either sides of Jim. Then, they converted to their Ultra forms, and Mebius and Hikari placed their hands on the Ultra/human. From their warning lights, light flowed from their chests, to their arms, and traveled down to their hands, until the light entered Jim. His form glowed with a golden light, and he seemed to notice, for he stirred ever so slightly. After the glow had died, Jim looked like he was merely sleeping, rather than comatose like before.

"Jim? Jim!" Krystal shook her friend slightly, but was restrained by Mebius. She looked up into the glowing eyes of the Ultra.

"He still needs to rest. We have sped up the healing process with our own power, but he will still be out of it for awhile."

"Thank you, for everything." Krystal said. Mebius and Hikari both nodded. Then, a thought struck Mebius.

"Krystal-chan, Zenith said that you had a type of staff in your possession."

"Yes?"

"May we see it, please? It's important."

"Of course." Krystal got up, and led them to her room. Inside, the two Ultras looked around the room, taking in the native décor. Krystal took the staff off of her dresser, and held it out to the two Ultras. It was in its inactive, twelve inch long state. Mebius took it in a red hand, and studied it. Hikari also gazed at it.

"Nii-san, this is…"

"I know. But…to see it here, of all places…"

"What are you two talking about?" Krystal asked, raising an eye-brow.

"Krystal, there just may be a way for you to help Zenith defeat Kronos." Mebius said. Krystal tilted her head to one side.

In space, approximately thirty light years to Corneria: Kronos was on his way. He could easily teleport himself to the planet, but wanted to save his energy for the slaughter to come. Even though it would not greatly impede him if he did teleport, he wanted to take his time, and savor the victory to come, makes the massacre more pleasurable. He was smiling broadly on the inside, and was speeding towards the planet.

Corneria City, a few hours later: The Great Fox was flying lazily overhead, preparing for the invasion from a powerful force. Jim had yet to come out of his coma. However, the Star Fox team was adamant in protecting the capital, which they believe will be the center of the assault. Landmaster battalions and squadrons of Cornerian Fighters were scrambled and stationed at various areas of the city. The arwings were flying close to the Great Fox, the five fighters flying over the city. Peppy Hare, who was considered too old to be flying, decided to fly this one time, claiming that 'If I got out, I wanna go out in style.' So, Fox relented in letting his mentor back in the cockpit. Lillith, Mebius and Hikari were still on the Great Fox, waiting for Kronos to reveal himself. Even though they know that they will be outmatched, they are determined to meet this foe head-on. They wouldn't have to wait long. A red ball of light descended upon the city. Though it was evacuated, some stragglers remained. Those that did, witnessed a great ball of crimson luminescence come down upon them. It hit the ground with an earth-shattering effect, leaving a crater behind in its wake. When the dust settled, Kronos rose to his full height. With the spear attached to his back, he pulled it out, and swung it about expertly, chuckling as he did so. The spear's tip was a long, sharp point with two smaller points coming out of the sides, making it look like a halberd than anything else. He struck a battle-stance, and laughed out loud. "Well, well, where is the welcoming committee I was expecting?" he asked, arrogance apparent in his distorted voice. Suddenly, he was pelted with plasma blasts and laser fire from the Landmasters and Cornerian fighters. It was a few moments that the barrage was kept up, and a cloud of dust and smoke rose up. However, when the assault did cease, the smoke and dust settled. Kronos wasn't even scratched. "Is that all you worthless curs have got? A fireworks show? HAH!" Kronos spun his halberd in the air, then planted the blunt end of the staff into the ground firmly, the action resulted in a massive shockwave of energy being released. The ring of energy expanded away from him, like a ripple in a still pool. It swept over everything for several kilometers, leaving nothing but devastation in its wake. The Landmasters were reduced to cinders before the counter-attack. The Cornerian fighters, on the other hand, were able to avoid the assault. They re-new their efforts, followed by the Star Fox team joining in the attack. However, even the charged blasts and nova bombs were like toys against the cruel invader. Kronos strode down the city while the assault went on all about him, explosions erupting on his frame from the assault, but he strode as if he were not bothered by it in the least. He swung out his halberd, and skewered an office building, sending it crumbling down. He did the same thing again, and again, and again. That was when the trio of Ultras decided to act. Mebius, Hikari, and Lillith transformed, and landed in front of Kronos, intent on bringing the Ultra down, no matter what.

In space, just beyond Corneria: An amazing thing was taking place. A crack appeared in the reaches of space, as if it were glass. The crack grew, until it was spider-webbed. Only those who truly knew about the Ultras, knew what it was heralding.

Corneria City: the city was under siege. Kronos, one the most murderous of the Ultras, was sent by the Council of Ultra to lay waste to the Lylat System, so it could be prepared for the heralding of the human race. However, three things stood in his way; Lillith, Mebius, and Hikari. The red and blue Ultras took up their combat stances, and faced the Ultra, determined to fight this foe with full verve. Kronos only laughed at them. "You three think that you are a mach for me? A rookie wannabe, a scientist, and a wet-nurse are no match for the invincible Kronos. I had destroyed worlds, and ended races, long before you could even stand up!"

"We know about your legacy, monster! I promise, that this is as far as you go!" Mebius shouted. Then, he converted to his Burning Brave mode, and Hikari donned his Armor of Heroes. Then, both heroes brandished their blades, and attacked Kronos. To the Ultra, however, it was child's play. He was able to anticipate their moves, and counter accordingly. Mebius went for an over head attack, but instead of blocking it, Kronos side-stepped out of the way, and rose his knee to Mebius' face, making him stumble back. Hikari lunged forward, but Kronos's halberd deflected the attack, and made Hikari stumble back. Kronos slashed and stabbed with the halberd. Even with his armor, Hikari still felt the assault, and it hurt like hell. Hikari fell to a knee, while Kronos prepared for an overhead strike, but Hikari rose his blade up in time, and blocked the blow. However, Kronos kicked him in the ribs, sending him to the ground on his back. Kronos readied his halberd to stab him, but Mebius intervened in time, sending a blade-wave Kronos's way and catching him off guard. He stumbled back from the unexpected attack, and Mebius pressed his advantage, coming in with a side-slice catching him in the ribs. The blade bit through Kronos' hide, and a little bit of light-blood seeped through. Kronos chuckled, and rubbed his cut slightly, haling it. "That's more like it. Show me more." Mebius brandished his blade, and charged forward. He hacked and slashed at Kronos, but the older Ultra was able to expertly evade and parry each attempt. Mebius went in for an overhead slash again, but Kronos blocked it with his staff. Then, he caught Mebius off guard by kicking him in the chest, and sending him to the ground. Mebius recovered, and went in to attack again. HE stabbed, but Kronos side-stepped. Mebius compensated with a side-slash, but Kronos jumped back, and using his halberd's superior reach, stabbed Mebius in the abdomen, the blade of the tip biting deep. Mebius yelled in pain, his blade disappearing. He gripped the shaft of the halberd, as he tried to pull it out of him.

"MEBIUS!" Hikari and Lillith shouted. The Star Fox team felt the same way. Then, Kronos lifted the halberd over him, with Mebius still attached to it, and flung Mebius off of his halberd and away from him. The Warrior of Light crashed to the ground, his warning light going off, and he reverted back to his normal form. He was breathing heavily as he clutched the wound in his stomach. Lillith ran over to his side, hoping to heal his wounds.

"Next." Kronos said.

"Damn you!" Hikari shouted. He rushed at Kronos in a blind rage, and slashed at him wildly, yelling as he did so. Kronos easily sidestepped out of the clumsy attack, laughing as he did so. Then, he gripped Hikari's forearm that held his brace in his hand, and tightened his grip. The blade disappeared, and Hikari was brought to his knee, groaning in pain as he tried to, vainly, pry Kronos' hand off of his arm. Kronos tightened his grip still, until he heard the satisfyingly loud crack of bone in his grip. Hikari screamed in agony. Kronos let go of Hikari, who held his arm in pain. Then, Kronos kicked him in the face, and sent him flying next to Mebius. Lillith was successful in closing Mebius' wound, but he was still pretty weak. She looked up to notice Hikari crashing to the ground, groaning in pain.

"Hikari!" She rushed over to him, and took his arm in her hand. She felt the broken bones, and he winced every time she gently applied pressure. She let her healing light enter his arm, and it dulled the pain some, but not enough to heal it. To do that would take time, time she did not have, on account of Kronos moving towards her. She got up, and got into her fighting stance.

"Now, you little bitch, you are mine to do with as I please." Lillith struck out with a kick to his side, but Kronos effortlessly caught it, and pushed her back, sending her to the ground. She got up, and executed a spin-kick to his face. Kronos took the attack without so much as a flinch, and looked unscathed. He chuckled, and backhanded her, sending her to the ground. Kronos grabbed her by the neck, and lifted her to his eye-level, her feet leaving the ground. "Even for a member of the Silver Cross Corps, you are weak. You will pay for going against your mother like this." Then, he dropped her, and she got back up, albeit uneasily, her back turned to him. Kronos brandished his halberd, and in a stroke that was almost un-seeable, stabbed her in the back. She screamed in agony, the blade coming out of the other end. On Great Fox, Jim's eyes shot open. He sat up in bed, and got out. He saw that the ship was already in Corneria's atmosphere, with the remains of the city below him. He saw Kronos with his halberd, and Lillith slumping to the ground. He gasped when he saw this, and when he saw Hikari and Mebius trying to stand, his rage boiled over. His Spacium Brace flashed, and he knew what to do.

Kronos was standing over Lillith's limp form. Her breathing was labored, as light-blood came from her entrance and exit wounds. "Let me, put you out of your misery." Kronos said, raising the point of his halberd over his head. Suddenly, two beams of blue and gold erupted against his flank. He grunted in pain, and stumbled forward. He whirled, and saw Mebius and Hikari in their Mebium and Knight Shot stances. Then, they stumbled to their knees, breathing heavily. Kronos laughed at them. "Is that the best that you two have got. You're more pathetic than I thought." Then, he let go of his halberd, and it dropped to the ground. Kronos hunched over slightly, his arms tucked close to his body. Red electricity danced about his frame, then he threw his arms out crucifix style, and brought them into a plus shape, with the right arm in front of the left. A red and black beam shot forward, and exploded against the ground in front of the two Ultras. They were sent flying back, screaming as they did so. They crashed into the ground, their warning lights going at a furious pace. Before he could get closer, the Star Fox team went in, determined to halt their foe's advance. However, he didn't even so much as glance at the fighters, until he saw one with a familiar occupant inside. He grabbed Krystal's arwing out of the air, and held it close to his face. Krystal looked out of her canopy, and at the face of the Ultra. "Looks like there's no hero to save you this time, cunt. Too bad that your traitorous boyfriend is not here to save you. I would've loved to see his face as I crush you to death." Then, he applied pressure to the fighter, and it started to crack. One word escaped Krystal's muzzled "JJIIIIMMM!" then, out of nowhere, a crimson orb of light struck Kronos from behind. It sent him flying to the ground, and skidding to a halt. Krystal had her eyes shut, but when nothing happened for a while, she opened them. What she saw, made her gasp. He arwing was in the hand of a glowing giant. She looked up, but the face was not discernable. Then, when the glow subsided, did she laugh out loud; Ultraman Zenith, in his 'Powered' form, had caught Krystal in his hand. The rest of the Star Fox tam felt relief well up inside, as did the two Ultra warriors. Zenith was about to set the fighter down, but it lifted off of his hand. Zenith nodded at Krystal, and she returned it, smiling broadly. Zenith looked back, and saw Lillith trying to get up, but falling down after each failed attempt.

"Lillith!" Zenith said. He rushed over to her side, and turned her over. He saw the wound on her chest, and set her down gently. Then, he placed both fists on either side of his warning light. Turquoise light poured out of his warning light, and into Lillith's which was blinking rapidly. It slowed, and was glowing a steady blue. Lillith looked up, and felt relief course through her body. She stood up, and looked Zenith in his glowing blue eyes.

"Help the others." he said plainly. Lillith nodded, and rushed over to Mebius and Hikari. Zenith turned his head, and saw Kronos stand up. He trotted, and leapt up, performing an aerial somersault, and ended in a drop kick to Kronos' face. He fell back to the ground again. He rose up, and faced Zenith. Zenith got into his combat stance, and faced off against Kronos, who merely laughed at him.

"Well, well, well. Look who finally decided to join us." he taunted.

"Kronos, ready for round two?" Zenith challenged.

"You can't beat me, boy. My power is greater than yours. I have destroyed whole worlds, while you were still banished from the Land of Light."

"And this will be your last battlefield, Kronos. I will not allow you to do as you please here!" Then, Zenith charged at Kronos, who simply side-stepped out of his way. However, Zenith was counting on this, and leapt up and over Kronos. The other Ultra whirled, and was met with two quick punches to his face. Zenith pressed his advantage with a side-kick to his ribs, and a haymaker, sending Kronos to the ground. The other Ultra got to his feet, holding his face in pain. He hadn't felt himself get hit that hard since his duel with Zoffy. He refused to be beaten by this trash! He picked up his halberd, and rushed at Zenith. Zenith ducked and evaded the weapon, until he caught it in his hands. However, Kronos decked him in the face, and sent him falling back to the ground. Kronos raised the halberd up, intent on skewering the warrior. Zenith rolled out of the way, and kicked out with his legs, forcing Kronos back. Then, Zenith spin-kicked him in the jaw, making him stumble back. 'Where is he getting his power from? When I fought him, he couldn't land a blow on me!' Kronos thought.

'Because I'm fighting for what I believe in!' Zenith replied, telepathically. 'Trying to destroy one race to bring back another falls nothing short of arrogance and stupidity of the highest regard. Those who try to do such an abominable act, deserve to be punished harshly!' Then, Zenith let loose his Mega-Spacium Kousen. The cross-shaped beam was hell-bent to Kronos, but the other Ultra merely spun his halberd around, forming a protective shield. The beam was deflected, and when it died, so did the spinning action. Kronos chuckled in response.

"So, looks like I still hold the upper hand." he responded. "I'm not going to let a little bastard whelp like you get the better of me." Then, he thrusted his halberd out, and red energy shot forward. Zenith barely had time to get a barrier up. The force of the attack was making him skid backwards. Soon, his warning light began to blink, the chime constant. Zenith kept the shimmering blue circle of light firm, despite the strain on him. The beam died, and so did the barrier. That's when she felt it. Krystal, still in her arwing, took out the inactive staff from behind her. It glowed a bright blue, and pulsed. She nodded, remembering the instructions that Mebius and Hikari had given her. "ZENITH!" she shouted. Zenith turned her way, and saw a blue flash of light come his way. It landed on his right forearm, and the light became a brace. However, this brace looked a lot like Krystal's staff when it's inactive, with the blunt end facing inside his arm, and the pointed crystal pointing out. Mebius and Hikari saw this.

"Success, nii-san!" Mebius said. Hikari nodded.

"Hmm. We were right about that staff."

Two hours earlier: "Krystal, there just may be a way for you to help Zenith defeat Kronos." Hikari said. Krystal tilted her head to one side. "What you think to be a staff, is not really a staff at all."

"I know. It also acts as a conduit and communication device for me to talk to Krazoa spirits." she replied.

"Yes, but you see, that is only a few of its functions. This staff, is a piece of our technology that we thought had been lost long ago."

"A piece of your technology? You mean that…this is…"

"Constructed on the Land of Light, more than several thousand millennia ago. We had thought it lost, when Sheja had died. That staff that you hold, is actually Sheja's brace when he was alive." Mebius said. Krystal gasped, as she gazed at the inactive staff in her hands. She was told that this was a unique weapon, even on Cerinia, as it was said to have been found by one of the first Cerinian foxes to appear on her planet. Since then, it was handed down from warrior to warrior, until it found its way to her. Even so, she found it all hard to accept. "That brace, can only be wielded by one who is pure of heart. You are such a person, as is Fox McCloud. That is why you two were able to wield it so effectively. In the hands of one who is evil, it could not be used. When Sheja finally fell, the brace must have detached itself from him, and was flung to the far corners of the galaxy, before landing on your planet. Since then, it has been used by your kind down the generations, until you were the next one chosen for it."

"Does this mean that, it belongs to Jim?" she asked. Mebius shook his head.

"The brace chose you as its owner, and so it shall remain until you die. However, Zenith will be able to use it, but you have to will it upon him. With this brace, it could be the edge he needs to win the upcoming battle."

"How do you mean?"

"This brace is one of the most deadliest weapons ever constructed on M78. In the hands of someone like you, it is formidable. In the hands of an Ultra, however, it can do the impossible." Krystal looked at the staff again, and it seemed to feel different in her paws. It still felt the same, but different as well.

'So, you were made on the same planet that Zenith was born on…' she thinks to herself. Then her thoughts went to the time when Zenith went up against Kyra in Addleson's lab. How the staff was able to transfer energy to him, giving him the edge he needed to defeat his opponent. "Alright, what do I have to do?"

"When the time is right, it will tell you what to do."

Present: The brace was fully formed on Zenith's forearm. Kronos saw it, and was surprised himself. "How are you able to have that brace?" he shouted. Then, he remembered hearing that, one of the teammates had a staff-like weapon in her possession. And when he saw images of it, it looked hauntingly familiar, but couldn't place his finger on it, until now. "So that's it. That little bitch had it the entire time!" he shouted. Zenith knew what he had to do. He placed his hand over the brace, and threw it out to his side, energy dancing around it. Then, he thrusted his arm forward, and a shimmering blue blade erupted from the end of the brace. He brandished it at Kronos, who seemed to be taken aback. He scoffed, and twirled his halberd around. Zenith charged at Kronos, and swung down with his blade. Kronos caught it with the shaft of his halberd, but Zenith gave a shout, and cut through the shaft, slicing the weapon in half. Kronos backed off, looking at each broken piece, then at Zenith. The blue blade was unscathed from the ordeal. Zenith brandished it again, and lunged forward. Tossing aside the blunt end, Kronos kept the bladed part of the halberd to fend off Zenith. However, Zenith assaulted him with renewed vigor. He assaulted the other Ultra, and was forcing him back with each attack. Then, Zenith knocked the weapon out of Kronos's hands, and thrusted forward, the blade shattering Kronos' warning light as it passed, and protruding out the other end. Grunting in surprise and pain, Kronos slumped off of the blade and to the ground. Zenith looked down at the dying warrior. "You think you've won? Even if you defeated me here, and stopped the Council, you will never come home. You will spend the rest of your days in exile, away from the home of your ancestors."

"In my wallowing of self pity, I failed to realize something very important. I was home, all along. I was home among the Star Fox team, and the rest of the Lylan race. I was a fool for not realizing it before. So long as monsters like you exist, I will fight to protect it."

"Then, you betray your people." Kronos said.

"I didn't betray my people. You people, have betrayed me." he stated plainly. Then, with a groan, Kronos' eyes faded, and went dark, his life leaving his body. Zenith regarded the corpse, then looked up at the five arwings. He nodded at them, and the team did likewise. Then Lillith, Mebius, and Hikari made their way to Zenith. Zenith nodded at them, and they returned it.

"Yahooo! We did it! We saved the day!" Slippy cheered.

"Quiet, Slip! There's still trouble! We need to find this artifact, and destroy it!" Peppy said.

"Oh, no! The artifact!" Zenith shouted. Then, the earth started to shake, and the sky darkened. Everyone's head looked up, and they saw the cause of it. The sky above them looked like it had a large crack in it.

"Is the sky falling?" Slippy asked, fearfully. His question was answered when the sky cracked open, and something came out; It was impossibly huge, the thing had a central orb, with two ends looking like spires that had grouped together. From the ground, it looked like to be the size of a large moon. Zenith looked to the other Ultras, and said only a few words; "Mina, IKZUU!" he shouted. The other Ultras shouted "Ryokai!" and flew up into space towards the thing, followed by five arwings.

M78, at that time: "Fellow councilmen, the time has come for us to rectify a mistake that has been committed. We shall wipe out the race that was never supposed to be born, and bring back the human race to this universe."

"But the planets have not been cleansed. You said that, in order to completely bring back the humans, the planets must be cleared of the indigenous race, to allow the humans to come back."

"It matters not. The artifact, Timekiller, will see to it that the race is both destroyed, _and_ the human race restored. Then, we will lead the human race the way it was meant to. We will guide the humans the way they were supposed to be, rather than just leave them to their own devices."

"Father and Mother of Ultra will not like it. They will try to stop us." another said. The lead female looked unfazed.

"Try, and fail. They have no power over us."

"And, your daughter? She is still in that universe."

"She has betrayed me. She deserves the fate left to her." The orb floating in between them shimmered, and the picture of the Timekiller in orbit around the planet Corneria came into view.

In orbit above Corneria: If the artifact looked big on the ground, it certainly looked bigger up close; It looked like the spires twisted and weaved themselves out of the orb in the center, which looked like an large, bulging eye, with a blood red iris, and black, reptilian pupil. Krystal could feel it. This was more than just a mindless killing machine. It had a will of its own. It was alive. It made her shudder with revulsion when she felt this. Zenith and the other Ultras felt this, but did not let it affect them, or at least tried not to. It was a solid black, with bits of blood-red streaking down the spires and to the central core. "Man, how are we supposed to fight something like that?" Falco asked. "It's like, the size of the freakin' planet!" Despite his outburst, Everyone agreed with Falco. the situation looked hopeless. Zenith didn't seem daunted. In fact, he surged forward, and was about to slice into the thing with his Cerinian Brace, when he was repelled by some black energy field. It sent him flying back, until he stopped himself. The rest of the group gathered around him.

"Jim, are you okay?" Krystal asked. Zenith turned her way, and nodded. Krystal returned it with a smile. Then, he turned to the other Ultras.

"We have to disable that dark field. If we can't, then there's no way to get into the interior of the thing."

"What do you suggest we do?" Hikari asked. Zenith raised his forearm with the Cerinian Brace. The Brace Flashed once, a sky-blue color. Mebius and Hikari did the same thing, their braces glowing a bright gold and light blue. The braces started to pulse, and Mebius and Hikari understood. Getting on either side of Zenith, The three Ultras thrusted their Braces forward, and the energies from both braces came together in front of them, becoming a gigantic ray of colors. The beam shot forward, and collided with the artifact. Then, a veil of darkness appeared around the artifact. The dark veil imploded on itself in moments from exposure to the beam. The three Ultras lowered their arms, and moved forward, as did Lillith and the Star Fox team. Then, when they got closer, dark bolts of energy shot out, and zapped the Ultras and Star Fox team. Only Zenith was unscathed, the Cerinian Brace erecting a protective barrier around him, repelling the assault. He looked back. The Ultras were able to escape the assault, along with the Arwings. "Zenith, you must go on! Only you have the power to continue this!" Hikari shouted. Zenith nodded at him, and flew closer to the artifact. As Zenith neared the center of the Timekiller, he noticed the darker things got. The stars were no longer visible in space, replaced by a cover of darkness that seemed impenetrable. Still he continued on. The center actually swiveled around, and focused on him. It truly was like a gigantic eye. He saw this, and shuddered involuntarily. He could feel the darkness within it. The will to destroy everything in its path. Then, he felt an overwhelming energy surge from the thing, and felt consumed by it. Outside, the others got far enough away from it, so as not to be bombarded by the assault. Then, she felt it. Or rather, felt bombarded by it, for Krystal felt an overpowering force build up from the artifact. She looked at it, and felt the power surge to unbelievable levels. She shuddered from it.

"Krystal are you alright?" Fox asked.

"It's just, this presence that I feel. It's so…overwhelming…"

"Look!" Falco shouted. They looked, and saw it. The artifact started to emanate a type of deep purple aura. Then, the aura expanded, and they could feel the effects themselves, like every pore in their bodies were being punctured by scalding needles. On Corneria, the effects were being felt as well, for people were dropping to the ground, rolling around in unbearable agony. It felt like the whole planet shook, and buildings were starting to topple and fall. Inside of the field, Zenith regained consciousness, looking around himself. He saw that he was in a sphere of bright blue light. He looked down at the brace, the energy coming from it. He understood, and knew what he had to do. It was risky, but it had to be done. He gathered all of his energy, like he was about to perform an Ultra Dynamite Attack. Flames started to dance about his frame, and then, they turned to a sky blue color, like the energy of the Brace. Then, the flames got bigger and bigger. On the outside, Krystal could feel the pain subsiding, replaced by another powerful presence. This one she could readily identify.

"Jim…"she half-whispered. Inside, Zenith had gathered enough of his power to be amplified by the Cerinian Brace. Then, like the Ultra Dynamite Attack, he released it all. His frame was engulfed in a blue fireball, and consumed the central eye. On the outside, the group saw a blue ball of fire expand from the Timekiller. It looked like a star that was spontaneously growing from the artifact. The Timekiller was consumed by the ball of fire, turning into so much dust, and then disappearing into nothingness. Then, the ball of blue fire died away, leaving nothing behind. They looked on, hoping to see some sign that Zenith survived. Nothing stirred. Krystal was beginning to lose hope, until she saw it. Like before, red particles of light came together, and formed Ultraman Zenith. Relief coursed through everyone like a flood. Zenith floated close to the group, and he gestured to the planet Corneria. With the group following close behind him, Zenith made his way to the planet Corneria, and landed in a large field. Lillith, Mebius, and Hikari landed soon after him. He looked to each one, and nodded, each of them returning the gesture. The five Arwings hovered behind Zenith. The Ultra turned, and walked towards them. He stopped short, and lifted his right arm. The Brace glowed, and became a blue light. It flew off of Zenith's forearm, and towards Krystal's arwing. The blue-furred vixen reached up, and took the shrunken orb of blue light into her hand. It materialized into her staff in its inactive form. She looked up at Zenith, who spoke to her via telepathy. 'Even though I was able to wield the Cerinian Brace as Sheja did before me, you are its true owner. It has been passed down from your ancestors, just like it was passed down from the Ultra race to yours. It will be yours, until the day you die. Please, keep it well.' Krystal nodded, grinning broadly, while Zenith nodded. Then, he turned suddenly, and saw the same effect that heralded the coming of the Timekiller. And then, he was staring face to face with the Council of Ultra, and a very angry female Ultra,

The Council of Ultra had been watching the whole thing, and needless to say, the senior female member was less than pleased with the result. She used the orb's power to open a rift to that world, to confront the one who dashed her carefully laid plans to nothingness. "You little cur! Who do you think you are?" she shouted at him. Lillith stepped forward.

"Mother, please! You have lost here, can't you accept that?"

"Be silent, child! I will deal with you, once I have dealt with this annoying little speck!"

"Wait, that's your mother?" Slippy asked. Lillith nodded ruefully at Slippy, while Falco thought 'Charming lady'.

"I have done my duty as a member of the Space Garrison. You, on the other hand, had no right to come here like this, and try to play God. It is you, who do not know your place, Zorabia!" Zenith shouted. Zorabia stood up, and raised her hand, a spear of light forming in her hand.

"With this stroke, I will end all of you at once!" she screamed. She cast the javelin. It soared through the gateway made by the orb, and was streaking its way to the group. Zenith was the first to act. He flew up, and tried to catch it. However, it was too fast, and pierced his warning light. With a shout, he fell to the ground, the javelin sticking from his chest.

"NOOOO!" Krystal shouted. Lillith, Mebius, and Hikari gathered around Zenith. Lillith tried to pull the javelin out, but with each attempt, he groaned in pain, and it sunk deeper into his body.

"I can't pull it out." Lillith said. Krystal looked at the prone form of Zenith, and felt tears well up once again. On M78, Zorabia felt herself smile on the inside. She was defeated this day, but was able to salvage something with the death of the Ultra who stopped her. She was readying another javelin, when the door to the chamber burst in, sending debris everywhere. The Council members had barely enough time to shield themselves from the blast. Suddenly several Ultra warriors came pouring in, and surrounded the Councilmen, their Ultra bracelets transfigured to their staff mode and the pointed ends threatening members.

"Make sure that they are secured." a voice boomed. Then, with his red mantle flowing behind him, the horned Father of Ultra, accompanied by his wife, the Mother of Ultra, and Zoffy, his second in command, both having mantles of their own. Father of Ultra addressed Zorabia. "This time, you have gone too far, Zorabia. Did you think us blind to your activities? We had known for quite some time what it was that you were planning. However, we lacked the necessary evidence to bring you in, until now."

"You think that you have won, Father of Ultra? You have little supporters here. The people rule on my side." the female Ultra spat.

"Not anymore. Now that they have been apprised of your activities, they have decided to look at you in a different light, Zorabia." Mother of Ultra replied.

"Take them away." Father of Ultra commanded. The Warriors of Light escorted the Council members out of the room. Then, the three Ultras turned to the gateway. The group on Corneria had seen the whole thing.

"So, that's your guy's superiors…" Slippy said.

"Exactly, Slippy." Lillith said.

"Zoffy, retrieve your subordinate. There is much work to do, if we are to save him." Mother of Ultra said. Zoffy nodded to her, and went through the gateway. With his mantle flowing behind him, he landed in front of the group. He strode over to them, and Mebius and Hikari stood up, fully erect and saluted their superior. Zoffy returned the gesture. Lillith stood up, and out of Zoffy's way. Zoffy knelt down, and inspected Zoffy's body. The javelin had pierced his warning light, and his life was fading. Nodding to himself, Zoffy stood up, and took two steps back. He pointed both of his arms at Zenith, and slowly rose them. As he did so, Zenith rose into the air, following the arms. Then Zoffy did another gesture, and a red light materialized around Zenith. Zoffy looked at the Ultras, and nodded at them. Then, he looked to the Star Fox team. He made his way to them, and spoke to them in an echoing voice.

"You are his comrades?" he asked.

"Y-yes, we are." Fox answered. Zoffy nodded.

"Then you may enter the travel sphere. I believe that you deserve the privilege of saying farewell to him." he said, turning to the red sphere. The Star Fox team followed him, and entered the sphere as he did. Inside the sphere, the landscape was a shimmering gold and orange, much like Zenith's own travel sphere. The arwings landed, though not exactly on ground. The team stepped out, and onto the 'ground'. Having been in Zenith's travel sphere, this type of thing was not really much of a surprise to them. But, it never failed to capture their attention with its splendor. In front of them, hovered the prone form of Zenith. He still had the javelin inside of his chest. However, Zoffy appeared before him, and with a wave of his hand, the javelin disappeared. "Patrolman Zenith, Wake up!" Just then, Zenith's eyes flashed to life. "Do you know who I am?" Zoffy asked.

"You are Patrolman Zoffy, my superior." Zenith answered, his voice sounding tired.

"Good. And as your superior, I would like to congratulate you on your performance this day. You were able to defeat, not only a demented murderer, but also a device that we could not destroy ourselves, among other noteworthy things."

"Thank you, sir. But I cannot accept the credit for myself. If not for the Star Fox team, I would not have been able to get as far as I did. Do I have permission to regain my power, and return to Corneria, sir?"

"Yes, but the procedure is not a simple one. You will have to return to M78 and replace your warning light. Otherwise, you will not be prepared to fight again."

"Then I will go with you sir. I am ready to do what is required of me."

"Why do you wish to return to this world. You are now able to come back to the Land of Light as a true hero."

"Because, this is my home now. These people saved me from Earth's fate, when it was destroyed by Gorzul. If not for them, I would've died. They are…my family sir." Zenith replied. Krystal felt tears well up when she heard him.

"I know. I saw it on the gamma screen, as did Father of Ultra. Very well. Because of your good record down here, I see no reason to deny your request. Permission is granted. Now, I believe your 'family', as you put it, has something to tell you." Zoffy said, gesturing to beside him. Zenith turned his head, and saw the five arwings, and their pilots standing beside them.

"Jim! Hurry up and get well! We'll be waiting for you back on Corneria!" Fox shouted.

"Don't worry about a thing! We'll hold the fort down while you are away!" Slippy shouted.

"You don't have to worry about us! We can take care of ourselves for now!" Peppy shouted.

"You were the one who said that we would always be the heroes here! Well, time for us to prove it to ya!" Falco yelled.

"Please, get well soon. We'll all be waiting for you to return to us." Krystal said. Zenith nodded, and reached over with his right hand, and gave them the 'peace' sign. Krystal laughed, tears coming down, and received a telepathic message from Zenith.

'I will return to you. When I return, I would like to talk about…us.' Krystal nodded.

'I will be waiting.' she replied. Then, the Star Fox team found themselves standing on the earth, looking up at the floating red sphere. It lifted itself into the air, and towards the gateway. It entered the gateway, and the it sealed behind them, the sky returning to normal. Krystal could feel the tears that she had suppressed starting to come. Mebius looked down, and gave her a telepathic message.

'Krystal-chan, you shouldn't worry. Zenith will be well taken care of, and will come back to you before too long.'

'I know, Mirai. It's just there was more that I wanted to tell him.'

'I think he already knows what it is that you wanted to tell him. That is the real reason why he promised to return.' Mebius replied. Krystal looked up at Mebius, who nodded at her. Krystal smiled through her tears, and nodded back. Then, she turned her gaze upward, staring back at the place where Zenith, aka Jim, had left.

'Please, come back soon, so I can tell you that I love you.' she thinks to herself.


	34. Promise of the Light

Chapter 34

Promise made of Light

It has been a week since Zenith/Jim had been sent back to the Land of Light for recovery. After the Counsel of Ultra had been apprehended, the charges they faced were attempted extinction of a sentient race, one of the few charges to warrant the death penalty on M78. However, while the others of the counsel faced the penalty, Zorabia was able to escape. No one knows where she went. In the Lylat System, however, things were getting back to a semblance of normalcy, with one exception; Jim was not present among the Star Fox team. His last battle nearly had been the end of him. The team was waiting for his return, especially one blue-furred vixen. Krystal held the ring that the Ultra/human had given her close to her heart, hoping that he would hear her thoughts. However, she had received no answer. General Pepper had been notified about the Ultra/human's temporary leave of the team, and had been kept on the alert for his return. Things quieted down since then. Missions didn't really pick up anymore, as a sense of peace had seemed to pass over the Lylat System. As such, Fox McCloud decided to do a little shore leave for the team, bringing the Great Fox to the planet Zoness, a favored vacation spot in the Lylat System. While the rest of the team enjoyed themselves, Krystal felt her mind wandering. At one of the pristine white-sand beaches that was found in abundance on the island, the team relaxed. While Falco and Slippy frolicked in the water, Fox and Krystal resigned themselves to sunbathing. They were not alone, however, as a red beach-ball promptly landed itself on Fox. With a grunt of surprise, Fox sat up suddenly, his shades falling off of his vulpine face. He looked up, and smiled at the person who threw the ball at him. Cody Phoenix, accompanied by Fara and their parents, was running up the beach towards the two vulpines. Fox smiled broadly, while Krystal did likewise. Fox stood up and tossed the ball back to Cody, who promptly caught it. "Be careful where you throw that thing, will ya? You could hurt someone."

"What makes you think he threw it, Fox?" Fara asked, grinning.

"Yeah. I don't throw like a girl, like some people." Cody replied with a toothy grin.

"Why you little…" Fara threatened. Fox laughed, while the Phoenix family got themselves comfortable next to the other two vulpines. That's when Cody noticed it.

"Hey, where's Jim at?" he asked, looking around. Fara and her parents did likewise.

"Yes, I haven't seen him since you visited us all those months ago." Fara's father commented. He was clad in swim trunks and a Hawaiian shirt, while Mrs. Phoenix was in a one piece with a skirt around the waist. Fara was wearing a two piece that she knew would get Fox's blood going, while Cody was wearing his own swim trunks. Fox forgot to tell them that Jim was not with them at the moment, due to reasons that he had yet to disclose with the Phoenix family.

"He's uhhh…visiting Earth right now." Fox said.

"Earth, why there?" Fara asked. "I know it's his home and everything, but isn't it barren?"

"Not as barren as you think." Her father replied. "Didn't you hear about the team going to Earth some time ago?" he asked.

"Oh, yeah. You guys did do that, didn't you?" she replied, remembering. "But, even so, isn't he the last of his kind. There aren't any humans left."

"He went back, probably to pay respects to his family." Fox covered. He never told them that Jim was actually Ultraman Zenith, since the Ultra/human asked them not to tell anyone, for any reason. Finding it logical, the team obliged. The Phoenixes have no idea who Jim really is.

"Well anyway, he's missing a great time at the beach." Cody exclaimed, heading for the water to join Falco and Slippy. Peppy was out as well, sunbathing a ways away from the others. He claims that being around young people was hazardous for his health.

"Hey, have you guys heard of the aliens that are supposed to be able to take on the forms of Lylatians?" Fara asked.

"Why?" Fox asked.

"There's supposed to be four of them here. Two red ones, a blue one, and even a girl. We heard from the news that they might be aliens from some far off galaxy or something." Fox felt his heart sink, realizing who Fara was talking about.

"What did they say?" he asked, fearing the worst.

"Well, That two seemingly normal people just randomly turned into these alien beings, and flew off somewhere about a week ago. And also, a girl was seen with them. They supposedly followed the other one to their home planet, or something like that." Fox remembered how Mirai, Serizawa, and Lilith said that they had to return to the Land of Light for reassignment. However, if Zenith were to return, more than likely they would as well. At least, that's what Slippy hopes for. He's developed quite a crush for Lillith recently. However, with things as they are, he seems to hardly miss her. However, the same cannot be said for Krystal. When Cody brought up that Jim wasn't with them, she felt a little depressed. Fox noticed, but said nothing. He just hoped that Jim would come back soon.

Somewhere in space, millions of light years from the Lylat System: In a dark, dead body of rock the size of a planet surrounded by an asteroid field, an evil presence lurked within. Gorzul, the dreaded demon that plagued the Ultras and Zenith, found that now was the time to take action. It summoned Claire to its chamber, and when the she-wolf arrived, his voice rasped. "The time is now, my child. Go now to the planet Corneria, taking with you all that you need to accomplish your task. Remember, that you must eliminate not only the Ultra, but the girl as well."

"Don't worry, sire. I will destroy both of them. The Ultra with my power, and the girl with my real identity." she said, grinning.

"Yes. They don't yet know who it is that you truly are, do they?"

"No. And that will be the death of them." she replied.

Lylat System, near Zoness: The sun was high, and the climate was mild, even for the planet known as a tropic. However, things were not as they seemed. Nearing the planet was a craft of unknown origin. Claire sat inside the ship, smiling to herself. Then she pressed a switch, and an amazing thing happened; in front of the ship, a white swirl of light appeared in front of the ship. The swirl grew until it was big enough to consume the ship that had summoned it. Then, a shape came out of it. Coming out of the opposite side of Claire's ship, the shape was glowing white itself, until it was completely out of the white-hole. Then, it took a shape; it was a saucer shape, a quarter size bigger than Claire's ship. It was white with dark stripes going around it, and knobs around the dome. Claire keyed her com. "You know what to do." The ship headed fore the planet Zoness. Claire smiled a toothy grin as it neared the planet. Then, she sped off for an unknown destination. Several minutes later, A red ball of light could be seen headed for the planet as well. However, the being inside of the sphere had only one thing on its mind; the Star Fox team. On Zoness, the planet was at peace. The warm sun was high in the sky, and the people didn't seem to have a care in the world. The same could be said for the Star Fox team and the Phoenix family. While the parents and Krystal leisured on the beach, the rest of the m were in the water. Fara and Fox were busy fighting off Falco, Slippy, and Cody. While Fox fended off Falco, who had a habit of trying to pull Fox under, Slippy and Cody were busy amusing themselves harassing Fara. "I'm gonna get you, you little creep!" Fara shouted as the vulpine kit dove under just as she was about to grab him. She was waist deep in the sea, while Slippy and Cody took turns doing things like pulling on her tail and such. "You two jerks better knock it off!" she shouted, thrashing about the water. Slippy grinned broadly as he took another tug at her tail. Fara whirled around, splashing water as did so, reaching for her unseen assailant. Cody tugged her next, and she whirled again. Both vulpine and amphibian were laughing now. While Fara thrashed about in the water, trying vainly to find the two, Cody snuck up behind her, and made a reach for her tail. However, when he made the grab and pulled away, he saw that he didn't exactly grabbed her tail. Slippy rose up to make another tug at her tail, but almost Turned from green to red when he saw her bare bottom rise up while she searched for Cody. Fara was unaware that the bottom part of her two piece was missing. Fox saw the display, as did Falco, and it was the avian who reacted first.

"Bwa ha ha ha ha ha ha ha! Hey, Fara! You're missing something!" Falco called. Fara turned around, her hips underwater, fortunately for her.

"What?" she called.

"I said, you're missing something!" Falco replied.

"What do you mean?" Falco pointed to his swim trunks, and Fara looked down, her face going a deep red when she saw what he was going at. With a yelp, she sank to the water up to her neck. Falco was having a hearty laugh, and Fox covered his muzzle to hide his own laugh. "COODYYY! SLIIIPPYYY! I'm gonna KILL YOU GUYS!" she yelled.

"What is she yelling about this time?" Fara's mother asked, sitting on a folding chair, with Mr. Phoenix doing the same.

"Maybe it's her time of the month again." her father said. Mrs. Phoenix shot him a glare, while Krystal laughed to herself, watching the display. She found herself looking up at the sky, a faraway look on her face.

"What's wrong, Krystal?" Mrs. Phoenix asked, looking over at the blue-furred vixen. She had a sympathetic smile on her muzzle that Krystal tried to return.

"Nothing. Just staring off into space, I guess." Mrs. Phoenix let out a knowing chuckle.

"I know what's on your mind." she said, placing a hand on her arm. "I'm sure that he knows that you are thinking about him right now. After all, Absence does make a heart grow fonder." Krystal returned the smile, and continued to stare up into space. In the water, Fara saw her brother come up, clutching the bottom part of her bathing suit in his paw. Fara saw this, and lunged at him. Leaping out of the water, Fox and Falco got a good view of her backside before she landed on Cody. When she emerged from the water, she was putting her swimsuit back on, her face quite red. Falco couldn't resist the urge to send another jibe her way.

"Hey Fara! I think Fox and I finally saw your good side for a change!" he teased, laughing out loud. She turned, murder burning in her eyes. Falco felt his blood run cold from the stare, and tried to hide behind Fox from the approaching vixen. "Fox, do something! You're her boyfriend!" he nearly wailed.

"Doesn't mean I'm her keeper!" he retorted.

"Fox, out of the way." Fara growled when she was close enough. Fox willingly obliged, not wishing to suffer her wrath. Then, she pounced on Falco. With a leap, she landed on the hapless avian, and both disappeared beneath the roiling water. Fara was the first to emerge, followed by Falco, whom she had in a head lock. Falco was trying to break free, with no success. Fox couldn't help but laugh at the scene. Both of them dove under again, and Falco was scrambling to get away from Fara, who was chasing after him. "Yeah, you'd better run, you blue-feathered turkey!" she yelled. Falco ran onto the sand, and Fara stopped short of the water's edge. She then turned, and walked back to Fox, the angry look still apparent on her face. Fox grimaced, and shut his eyes for the inevitable. When nothing happened, he peeked out of an eye, and saw Fara standing close to him, their noses mere centimeters apart.

"What are you cowering for?" she asked.

"Uhhh, nothing?" he said, a nervous smile on his muzzle. Fara smiled.

"Good." she said, and pushed Fox, sending him into the water. He got back up, spluttering and coughing.

"What the heck was that for?" he shouted.

"For laughing at me." she replied, and tackled him, sending both to the water. When they re-emerged, Fara was laughing and squealing as Fox lifted her up and threw her into the water. Thus, their little match continued, the team and co. unaware of the thing that lurked beneath them. The saucer dove into the water, to avoid detection from the Ultra that it knew would be sent after it. After it felt safe enough, it decided to act. The water several hundred yards began to roil. Cody saw it first

"Hey, check that out!" he shouted, pointing to the spot of the bubbling water. Then, everyone saw it, and stopped what they were doing. Krystal stood up, and felt the presence. It was dark, and malevolent. Then, it rose. The ship rose from the water, which was beginning to steam at this point, and hummed in the air. Cody, Fara, Slippy, and Fox were rooted to the spot, their mouths agape. Krystal was the first to act.

"Everyone, out of the water, now!" she shouted. No one wasted time in moving. When the last body was out of the water, the saucer still did not move. Other people on the beach saw it, and stopped what they were doing to gaze at it. Then, it moved, the humming increasing in volume. The people panicked and tried to get away from the alien thing. The town that was close to the shore appeared to be its target. It hovered over the buildings, with the people looking up in sock and fear. A ball of light began to materialize from directly underneath the saucer. Suddenly, a beam of light shot out and impacted with the ground. The result was a shockwave that decimated a city block. People ran in sheer terror, and the thing carried on its assault. Fox decided to act.

"Fara, get your family and get as far away from here as possible! Star Fox will try to handle that thing!"

"Right. Take this for luck." she gave Fox a quick kiss on the cheek before running with her family to get to cover. Peppy ran next to Fox as he ran onto the shore.

"I already told ROB to scramble the arwings. They should be here in a few moments." The wizened hare said. Fox nodded to him, and the team raced towards the alien ship. It was pandemonium. The town was all but a smoking ruin, with the residents either dead, dying, or running for dear life. The saucer continued to fire every which-way, not really picking targets so much as it was randomly firing at anything that did or didn't move. When the team reached the city, five arwings were teleported to their destination, materializing right next to them. The team hopped in, and took off. "Alright, people. The thing hasn't taken notice of us yet. Krystal, what are you getting from it?" Fox asked. Krystal reached out with her telepathy.

"I feel nothing but bloodlust. The saucer, or its occupant are on the warpath!" she said. "They haven't seen us yet, so we do have the element of surprise."

"Alright, let's not waste it then." Fox said, The team split up, and fired at the ship from all sides. The lasers on the arwings didn't do anything except provide a fancy lightshow against the shields. The thing seemed to turn in mid-air, as if to face its attackers. Then, a spot on the dome glowed, and it fired its beam attack at them. The fighters were able to maneuver out of harm's way, but that was the only thing that they could do. The saucer fired wildly at them, hoping to get a lucky hit.

"Geez, it's just firing blind!" Falco exclaimed.

"But its strategy is working, evidently. We can't get close to it." Krystal inputted. Fox tried to figure out a way to get past its defenses.

'There's just gotta be something…' he thought. Then, he saw it. A glowing area just underneath the saucer, where the energy would build up and fire. The same was true for the dome. Fox just had an idea. "Guys, try to aim for the glowing areas both above and below the ship."

'Now why didn't I think of that?' Peppy thought, smiling to himself. The five fighter were quick to act, and immediately fired upon the glowing areas. Since normal lasers had no effect, the team switched to nova bombs, these having a more noticeable effect. The bombs broke through the shield, and shattered the glowing areas. Heavily damaged, the saucer fell to the ground, explosions happening around the frame of the ship.

"Yahoo! We did it!" Slippy cheered.

"That's what ya get!" Falco added. Fox let out a sigh of relief, as did Peppy. Krystal, on the other hand, was not at ease.

"Don't celebrate just yet," said a voice that wasn't there. The team froze in their tracks as they heard it. "You haven't even begun to see my full power yet." the voice was menacing, and sounded full of arrogance. The saucer glowed with energy, then exploded into debris and flame. However, when the dust and smoke settled, a new enemy arose. Standing a full several hundred feet, was a humanoid alien, if it could be called humanoid. Its body was blue, with a stripe of red that went around the midsection like a belt or girdle, and a stripe of yellow going down the sides of the legs. Its arms had stripes going down the shoulders, and in place of normal hands, it had wicked looking cannon-like appendages with spikes. Its head was the most grotesque of all; it was like in the shape of an octopus or squid, with two stripes of yellow going down the front that light up, and two eyes on either side of the head that glowed evilly, giving it a feeling like it was more at home in the water, than on land, like a fish. It raised its arms, and the voice went through their heads again. "Did you really think that your puny machines could harm the great Metron? You people are more foolish than I thought! I have traveled all the way from my homeworld, in the reality that you know as the 'Ultraverse', to conquer your kind! And if this is the best that you got, then what have I to fear?" It let loose a hideous cackle after that.

"So, he is from Jim's universe…" Fox says to himself.

"What are we gonna do now, Fox?" Slippy asked.

"What do you mean, 'what are we gonna do'? We're gonna show that overgrown calamari what happens when you mess with us!" Falco shouted, and shot past the other arwings at the giant alien.

"Falco, wait!" Fox called. But Metron had already seen him. It turned, an arm raised, and fired an electric beam at Falco. The avian was barely able to pull out in time to avoid being hit by the beam. The thing growled, and turned to the ruins of the town. Metron wouldn't be satisfied until the whole place was razed, and every single man, woman and child were nothing more than ghosts. It fired its beams at the ruins, creating more rubble and debris. The people who couldn't get away screamed in terror at what was happening. Krystal felt this through her telepathy. The stark terror and fear of the people was enough to make her dizzy.

"Stop it…stop it…stop it…" she says to herself. Metron continued to fire at the ruins and people claiming more lives, and adding more to the pain that Krystal was feeling "Stop it…stop it… STOP IT!" Unable to take it anymore, the blue-furred vixen was driven to rage by the people's fear and Metron's own lust for death. She fired her nova bombs at the alien, the explosive's doing their work. They exploded against Metron's back, and made him stumble forward and fall to the ground, the cruel invader clutching his back in apparent pain.

"That-a-girl, Krystal!" Peppy called.

"Ya got him!" said Slippy.

"Krystal, the giant killer." Falco said, smirking. Fox nodded at her, and she returned it. Metron stood back up, and whirled angrily at the arwings. He fired its arm-beams at the fighters, but the nimble craft easily evaded the clumsy attack. Metron continued to fire at the fighters, but couldn't hit them. Then, it reached out with its arm, and actually grabbed one. Slippy panicked as the spike-like appendages closed in around his craft. Metron laughed, brandishing the arwing to the others when they flew in close enough.

"Look upon your comrade in despair. If anything were to happen to him, would you forgive yourselves?"

"Fox, help me!" he shouted.

"Slippy!" Fox yelled. Metron continued to laugh, his head going up and down.

"You have only one chance to save your friend. Power down your ships, and surrender. That's all you have to do." he said. Fox looked away, not knowing what to do. If they fought, Slippy will die. If they surrendered, the alien would just kill them all anyway. He could risk it, could try to save Slippy by shooting at the thing's 'hand', but if he missed, Slippy would die. "Time's a wastin', as they were fond of saying on Earth. He he he he he he he he he he!"

"Guys, don't worry about me! Just get this thing!" Slippy called.

"Slippy, what are you saying?" Falco nearly shouted.

"Just get this guy! If you don't do something, we're all dead!"

"Slippy…"

"Just do it! It's what Jim would want, for us to keep on fighting!" Then, Metron's head perked up.

"What was that name you just mentioned?" he asked.

"It's Jim. He's also known as Zenith to you guys, undoubtedly. And when he gets here, he's gonna turn you into sushi!" Slippy yelled. Silence, then a sound was heard from the alien, then the sound became a chuckle, then laughter, then a cackle. Metron threw his head back as he laughed. "What's so funny?" Slippy yelled.

"You mean that Ultra that was wounded a week ago, and was sent back to the Land of Light for treatment?" he asked, his laughter dying down.

"Y-yeah?" Slippy asked. Laughter resumed.

"You obviously haven't heard. That man, Ultraman Zenith is never coming back."

"What are you saying?" Slippy asked.

"I mean, he's dead!" he shouted. Slippy's jaw went slack, and Fox's eyes widened in shock. Falco was frozen at the spot, while Peppy felt his arms wobble. However, Krystal felt hit hardest.

"It's not true… you're lying!" she shouted. Her arwing shot forward, facing Metron. "You're lying! Jim's alive! I know it, I feel it! He promised us that he would return…promised me that he would return…" Krystal felt her voice trail off.

"Well, if I'm wrong, then where is he?" Metron asked. Nothing happened for several seconds. "I'm waiting, Mr. Dead Ultra. Show yourself, if it's only your ghost that can show up. Ha ha ha ha ha aha ha ha ha ha!"

"Shut up! He's not…he's going to…" But Krystal couldn't finish. She couldn't find the words. What if the reason why he couldn't be here really was because he was… 'No, I can't think like that! Jim has always kept his promises! He won't let us down!'

"Of course, you don't have to believe me. It's your choice, but it's what I've heard. I heard he got stabbed by a spear made of light, after fighting with a demented Ultra. I heard that he was rushed to their healing room, only for his life to pass on along the way. I also heard, how he said only one name before he died. That name…was 'Krystal'." Krystal felt her heart skip a couple of beats when he said this. Metron turned to face the four arwings, and pointed to Krystal. "Your name is Krystal, isn't it? Yes, I can feel it. He he he he he he. He died, calling your name. He ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha ha!"

'No. It's not true. I know it's not true…' Krystal thinks.

"It's true, you know. At least, based on what I've heard." Metron said.

'It's not true…but then, how did it know my name? Is Jim really…are you really…gone?' Krystal could feel the tears well up, and fall onto her lap as she looked down. Metron continued to laugh. Then, Krystal looked up, and felt her rage boil over. Angry tears burning her eyes, she shot forward. "SHUT UP!" she screamed, firing at Metron. The sudden attack caught Metron off guard, and made him release Slippy's arwing. Slippy flew away, finally free of the thing's grasp. Krystal still fired upon the alien, and narrowly missed being shot down.

"Krystal, enough! Fall back!" Fox ordered. Krystal, however, could not be reached. She was focused entirely on Metron.

"I'll make you pay, monster! You'll PAY!" she fired at Metron, not wasting a single shot in reserve. The explosions that bloomed on Metron's body prevented the invader from firing on Krystal.

"Krystal, is this what Jim would want from you?" Fox asked. this made her stop. Her paws trembled at the controls, tears coming down. Then, an arm swatted at her, and Krystal was sent into a tailspin. She compensated, and was floating in the sky normally. However, she looked up, and saw Metron prepare to bring the arm down upon her. "KRYSTAL!" Fox cried. Krystal shut her eyes, and braced for impact.

'Jim, I'm so sorry.' she thought.

"I heard your prayers…" came another voice. Her eyes shot open, and saw the arm descend. Then, a bright red ball of light fell on top of Metron, making him fall back. The light took shape, and Krystal could make out a humanoid shape with a flowing cape behind it. The light decreased, until it was nothing. Then, she could see the figure clearly, and she felt herself laugh out loud. Standing in front of her, fists planted upon his waist, was Zenith. However, he was different. He was in his 'Powered' form, but his eyes were no longer blue, but shining yellow, and the red coloration was slightly different as well. One of the most prominent differences is his warning light. No longer circular, it was in the shape of an upside-down triangular shape. Also, he was wearing the same type of cape as Father of Ultra was.

"JIM! You're alive!" Slippy cried. Everyone else was thinking the same thing. Metron stumbled to his feet, and looked surprised.

"Impossible!" he cried. "How? You were supposed to be dead! Everyone said that you had died!"

"I was close to death, but you forget about the miracle powers of the Plasma Spark." Zenith replied, pointing at Metron. Metron growled, and thrusted both arms out at Zenith.

"I'll send you to your grave MYSELF!" he screamed at Zenith. He fired its electric beam, and there was a large explosion. Smoke and dust covered the area. Everyone held his breath. Then, walking out of the dust and smoke cloud as if nothing had happened at all, Zenith came forward, his Ultra Mantle flowing behind him gracefully, giving him a regal appearance. Metron was shocked, unable to move. Zenith stood in front of the invader, fists planted on his waist once more.

"No…it can't be…" he said in a quiet voice.

"Give this foolish resistance up. You lost the second I touched down on this planet."

"NEVER!" Metron shouted. Then, brandishing his arms threateningly, he charged at Zenith. Metron swung out with his left arm, but Zenith was able to block it with his right arm, then planted a kick in Metron's midsection, making him skid back, and fall to his knees. He looked up at the Ultra. He stood up, and roared at him, the roar sounding full of rage and hate. Zenith walked towards the invader, and Metron ran at him. The invader tried to bring both arms down on Zenith, but failed, Zenith blocking both arms with his own, and pushing him back. Then he planted a fist in Metron's abdomen, an explosion blooming. Metron stumbled back, and Zenith did the same action, and the same thing happened with Metron stumbling back from the Ultra. Metron looked up, and fired his beams again. However, Zenith raised his cape up, and the beams were deflected harmlessly off of the red cloth. Metron lowered its arms in shock. It had only one option left. It turned around, and flew off, trying to escape from the Ultra. However, Zenith placed his arms in a plus-shape, and fired the Mega-Spacium Kousen. The cross-shaped beam connected with the alien, and Metron exploded into a giant fireball. Zenith dropped his pose, and turned to face the Star Fox team. He looked to each ship, and nodded. Then, he turned to leave.

"WAIT!" came a voice. Zenith turned, and saw Krystal's arwing floating in front of him. "Please, don't go. Don't leave me again. I want you with me." Tears were starting to come down her vulpine face. Zenith made three gestures. He placed a hand over his heart. Then, he made a heart shaped gesture with his hands, and then he pointed at Krystal. The meaning to her was clear. 'I love you.' Then, he stepped back, and looked up.

"SHUWA!" He was off like a rocket, heading for the reaches of space. Krystal felt the tears well up again, and she couldn't stop them. Then, the Great Fox came into view, and the ships went into tha hangar, all save one. Krystal was hanging back, still looking up at the place where Zenith had left. Finally, she entered the hangar.

Tears still fresh, and her eyes looking bloodshot, Krystal shot past the others, and headed for her quarters. After locking the door behind her, she went to her bed, and sobbed into the covers facedown. In her distraught state, she never noticed the glow behind her. However, it did get her attention when she heard a faint humming sound. She looked up, and behind her. She stood up when she saw the red sphere floating in the middle of her room. Then, the light took shape, and the person standing in front of her was wearing a smile. Jim, clad in a tan tunic, black vest, tan pants and black boots with a red and white cape over his shoulders, stood in front of the surprised vixen. "I told you I'd return to you." he said. He had a tear in his own eye. At that point, Krystal couldn't hold it. She lunged, and embraced Jim as tight as she could. Jim could feel the moisture of her tears through the fabric of the tunic reach his skin. He held the vixen as tight as he could as well, while Krystal tried to speak, but her crying couldn't get the words out. Finally, she calmed down enough to speak.

"He-he said that you were dead.." she said, her voice shaky.

"I was close to death, but one thing made me hold on."

"What was it?" she asked.

"You." he answered. Krystal smiled through tears, and kissed Jim on the mouth. Both held there for a long time until Krystal pulled away. She saw the cape, and felt the fabric with her hand.

"Where did you get the cape?" she asked.

"A gift from my father." he replied. She laughed, and held Jim, never letting him go.


	35. Zenith's Return

Chapter 35

Zenith's Return

One week ago: "Get him to the healing chambers, now!" Father of Ultra barked at the warriors. After Zoffy escorted a dying Zenith to the Land of Light, via the same portal that the Council of Ultra had used, Father and Mother of Ultra followed the warriors escorting the travel sphere containing the body of Zenith. Though he had the light-spear removed from his body, fortunately, it had done enough damage to be life-threatening. The healing chambers was a large room, with several tubes with open transparent covers lined in several rows. Although life-threatening, the healing chambers were manned by the best the Silver Cross Corp. had to offer, with state-of-the-art equipment ready at a moment's notice. The limp form of Zenith was carefully placed in one of the tubes, with Mother of Ultra and Lillith standing beside him.

"Will he live?" Zoffy asked. Mother of Ultra shook her head.

"I don't know. A wound like this as not been inflicted upon our race in a millennia. An Ultra killing an Ultra is nearly unheard of. But, we will try." Then, the tube closed, and the interior glowed, until it became a radiance. The tube got its healing power from the Plasma Spark itself, the source of all life of the Ultras. The artificial sun gave its unlimited power to all Ultras, and would heal just about anything. However, could light heal a wound caused by light? Inside of the tube, Zenith was experiencing something akin to a fever dream. The others heard mutterings, but could only make out parts of it.

"Krystal…Prophecy…Gorzul…Must…find…Power of the soul…"

"What's he saying?" Zoffy asked.

"Not sure. It could be just shock. He mentioned Krystal. That's one of the natives of the planet Corneria."

"I know. The one who has a crush on him. If anything, he will fight for her." With that, Father of Ultra and Zoffy left Mother of Ultra and Lillith alone with Zenith.

"Supreme Commander, will Zenith be alright?" Lillith asked, facing Mother of Ultra. The older female looked at the young recruit, but couldn't answer. Instead, she turned her gaze to the shining tube, where a life hangs in the balance.

He was inside of the void. Or, was this something else? It was dark, pitch black in fact, and he felt very alone. He wonders, if he had died. A sadness welled up within him. 'Krystal…I'm so sorry. I don't think I can keep my promise, not like this. There's so much I wanted to tell you, but now…'

"Don't despair just yet, Holder of the Sun." Zenith whirled, trying to find the speaker.

"Who's there?" he asked. Then, he heard a familiar chittering, and like stars being born in the night sky, six pin-points of light appeared. The lights swelled, until they became the shapes of the beings that Zenith recognized. "Krazoa Spirits!" he nearly shouted. Indeed, the spirits floated around his body, chittering and whispering among themselves in the language that Zenith could not understand. "Are you here to help me?" he asked, daring to sound hopeful.

"You could say that." the voice said again. The Ultra whirled, but could not find the speaker.

"Show yourself!" Zenith shouted. Materializing out of the gloom, was a cloaked figure.

"No need to shout, my young friend. It would seem that, you have found yourself in a predicament." he said, casually, almost amusingly.

"What do you mean?" Zenith asked.

"Your presumption about being dead is not far off, my boy. You're not dead, but close to it. However, given time in the healing chambers, you will make a recovery." Zenith was sighing in relief.

"You said 'healing chambers'. Are you an Ultra?" Zenith asked.

"Me?" the cloaked figure asked, pointing to himself, then laughed. "No, my young friend, I am not. Though there are times that I wish that I were one." He laughed again.

"Then…who are you?"

"A friend. Or in this case, a benefactor." Zenith didn't follow.

"Allow me to explain. You remember your first excursion to the planet known to you as Sauria?" he asked. Zenith nodded. "You found out about Gorzul, and further on, the events that, unfortunately, lead to his release upon the realities. Gorzul poses a far greater threat than you realize. Unless Gorzul is stopped soon, he will sweep across the realities like a plague, and all the universes will be under his tyrannical rule, for all of the eternities. Your releasing him was nothing less than an unfortunate accident. However, if you could release him, then you can seal him away."

"I plan on doing more than sealing him." Zenith said, a threat showing in his voice.

"You cannot kill him, unfortunately. But, you can make sure that this does not repeat itself. However, there is one more thing missing."

"What's that?" Zenith asked.

"It will take _two_ people of destiny to seal away the evil of Gorzul. If this person can be made to realize the power sleeping inside of her, then you will seal Gorzul away for the eternity of eternities."

"You said 'her'…'her' who?" Zenith asked.

"You should be able to figure it out. After all, she's been hitting on you since you met." the cloaked figure said, amusement in his voice. It dawned on the Ultra.

"Krystal!" he shouted. The cloaked figure nodded.

"Krystal is the other person of fate, an 'orphan of fate', like yourself."

"'Orphan of fate'?"

"You both lost your homes and families to Gorzul. You know it, but she doesn't. Gorzul ravaged her home when she was a mere child. However, she was sent to Sauria, and was cared for there by a good friend of mine. However, her mind was altered to suppress certain memories to protect her, and a certain Ultra."

"You mean me…I was on Cerinia when it was destroyed. I was a child, no older than her, expecting to start training. Then…something happened. What was it? My memory is starting to come back from when I was a kid, but…"

"the memory alteration is starting to wear off on you. But for Krystal, it is still holding onto her. Soon, though, she must remember what had happened to her planet." The cloaked figure looked at Zenith, who looked downtrodden. "You worry about how she will see you, if she remembers. You fear, that she may blame you about withholding certain information from her." Zenith looked up. The cloaked figure chuckled. "Do not worry. When all is revealed, everything will work out just fine, just you wait and see."

"That's fine and all, but what about Gorzul? How do I defeat him?"

"You will not be able to defeat him alone. You need Krystal and her power to aid you, and even then, it will be risky. You will put not only your life, but hers as well in danger."

"Krystal…will want to fight. She'll want to fight beside me to end this. And, I wouldn't be able to stop her." Zenith said, slumping his shoulders in apparent defeat. "No matter how much I will want to protect her, she will fight with me, one way or another."

"Of course. She was raised to be a warrior. Hiding in safety for her, is not an option. You of all people know that, as well as her friends. She seeks for you, among all the others in the Lylat System. She connects with you. Do you know why?" Zenith shook his head.

"At first, you thought it was because you and her were so similar. But, it was because of a promise that you made to her before Cerinia was destroyed. She subconsciously remembers it, that's why she wants to be with you and holds such feelings towards you. Do you remember what promise that is?"

"I…can't seem to…" the cloaked figure shrugged.

"Ah well, it will come…in time."

"But, Gorzul is rapidly approaching, isn't he? When will he be in the Lylat System?"

"Unfortunately, he will arrive shortly. He will attempt to do what he could not do before."

"What he could not do before? What couldn't he do before?"

"You will know, soon enough."

"…Gorzul is more than just an evil entity, isn't he?"

"Yes, he is."

"Who is he?" Zenith asked. The cloaked figure chuckled again.

"You'll find out, in good time. And when you do, then you will know just what it is that is at stake." The figure gestured to the free-floating Krazoa Spirits, and they swarmed over Zenith, circling around his body. The Ultra was startled, as he turned this way and that. The Krazoas began to glow brighter, lighting up the darkness. "Remember. You two are Orphans of Fate. You hold the Might of the Sun, while Krystal holds the Power of the Soul. You two were meant to fulfill the prophecy. Remember, she holds the Power of the Soul." and with that, everything became a blinding white light.

When Zenith was able to see, he saw that he was inside of a tube. Zenith placed his hands on the glass, and it lifted, allowing him to exit. After rising uneasily, he stumbled out of the tube, and steadied himself against it. He looked down at himself, and looked at his hands, and body. The red pattern on his body was slightly different from what it was. He still felt like his old self, but also a little different, though couldn't figure out what. "Zenith!" The Ultra whirled, and saw Lillith and Mother of Ultra coming to him.

"Lillith, Commander, what happened? How long…have I been…"

"You've been out of it for at least a week. And during your recovery, you went through some ah…changes." Lillith explained, looking Zenith up and down.

"I can see that." Zenith replied, looking down at himself again, then noticed something. "Where's my warning light?" he asked.

"Well, we haven't gotten one for you yet. Once you have it, you will be able to return to the Lylat System." Mother of Ultra explained.

"When will I be able to receive it?" Zenith asked.

"Right now, if you wish." Lillith said. Zenith nodded. The trio walked out of the healing chambers, and headed for the place where warning lights were given. The three of them came to a large double set of doors at the end of the hallway. Mother of Ultra opened it with apparent ease. Inside, were two figures. One was a senior looking Ultra, judging by the 'side-burns' on the side of his mask-like face, and another who Mother of Ultra, Lillith and Zenith know all too well.

"Father!" Zenith shouted. Ultraman Hayata turned from the other Ultra, and looked to the trio of Ultras standing in the doorway. If he could, Hayata could smile.

"Zenith. I am pleased to see that you are well." Hayata and Zenith stood at equal height, while Zenith had slightly more musculature than Hayata did, while the other Ultra was clad in his Ultra Mantle. "I see that some changes have been made, as well." the Ultra replied, looking up and down his son. "We should've expected this. After all, your human side was badly damaged, and…"

"My…human side…" Zenith started.

"I'm afraid that, your human side was too badly damaged to repair. In order to save you, we had to change you."

"So you did away with my human self, and made into a full Ultra." Zenith finished, letting the reality of it all sink in. Then, he felt something surface, akin to anger and repulsion.

"What the hell did you DO TO ME?" he shouted.

"I know that this is a bit of a shock to you, but…" Lillith started, but was cut off.

"You're damned right it is! I'm not a human anymore! I'm…I'm…" Zenith fell to his knees, holding his face in apparent sorrow.

"You're still you." Hayata said. Zenith looked up. "Though your body is different, your heart remains the same. Your heart will always determine who you are. Don't ever forget that, my son." He held out his hand, and Zenith took it.

"So, I truly am Zenith now. I'm no longer Jim."

"You still are Jim, and Zenith as well. Your body was hyper evolved to the Ultra state to save you. You are now a full-blooded Ultra, courtesy of the Plasma Spark." Lillith said.

"The…Plasma Spark did this to me?" Zenith asked. He looked down at his hands, and clenched his fists. He was starting to understand, but that didn't mean that he had to like it. "When do I get my new warning light?" Zenith asked at last.

"Right now." Hayata answered. He gestured for him to follow, and Zenith followed his father to another part of the chamber. Up a slight flight of steps, there was an altar-type structure, where a mass of light floated on top. "This constructs warning lights from the will and personality of the Ultra. Each Ultra born is given one, and wears it for the rest of his and her life. All you must do, is place your hand in the light, and it will be given to you." Hayata explained. Zenith looked at his hand, then at Hayata. "Just put your hand in the light. That's all you have to do." Zenith looked at the floating mass of light, and did as he was told. He placed his hand in the mass of light, and felt a great warmth on it. After a few moments, he pulled his hand out, and he was holding his new warning light. It was in the shape of the rank he had when he was a soldier on Earth, a Specialist. "I see you picked something nostalgic." Hayata said, looking at the warning light in Zenith's hand. Zenith placed it on his chest, and it fastened itself onto him. It flashed blue once, and became a steady sky-blue color. He looked at Lillith, then Mother of Ultra, then finally his father. "Now, you are ready to fulfill your assignment." Hayata said, nodding. Zenith nodded back, and turned to leave. "Wait." Zenith turned. "There's something missing…" he said, thoughtfully. Then, he snapped his fingers, and reached for the chain holding the cape to his body. He unhooked it, and handed the cape to his son. "Take mine." he said.

"But…this is your mantle." Zenith said.

"True, but you shouldn't return to your friends looking like a rookie Member, not after all that you had accomplished. Here, let me put it on." Hayata flung the cape around his son, and fastened the chain, holding the mantle in place. He stepped back, looking at his son. "Now, you look like a member of the Space Garrison." Hayata said, pride sounding in his voice.

"Thanks…I guess." Zenith said, inspecting himself.

"That mantle has a power of its own. Stronger than any metal known, yet softer than the finest silk in any universe. It will answer your call, should ever you need it." Zenith felt the fabric. It was extremely soft, softer than velvet. However, he suspected it was far tougher than it appeared and felt. He nodded at Hayata, who returned it. He headed out of the chamber, and guided by memories that belonged to the original Zenith, made his way out of the Garrison Command building. He looked up, and with a shout, was flying through M78's airspace. He left the atmosphere of the planet, and headed out to the Gate Way. After stopping at a certain distance from the planet, his warning light flashed once, and after making a gesture, a blue beam of light shot out of it. The beam stopped several hundred yards away, and then, the beam seemed to explode against some unseen object. A great swirl of light came into being, and it swelled to gigantic proportions. The white hole swirled in front of the Warrior of Light, and he flew into the phenomenon. He entered what looked like a tunnel made of a multicolor of lights. Then, he came to, what the Ultras called, the Cross Roads. It was a void of endless worlds. The void was a swirl of black and white, with innumerable spheres of light floating endlessly. He floated to one of the lights, the sphere being no bigger than a basketball compared to him. His warning light flashed blue, and a beam of light came down on it. The sphere materialized into a type of window, with the Lylat System visible. Nodding, Zenith did another gesture, and the sphere enlarged to be twice his size. Then, he entered it. After passing through another tunnel of lights, he came across the familiar twelve planet system. However, he was not the only one to come here. He sees a familiar looking ship head for the planet Zoness. With post haste, he hurried to the planet that Metron Seijin had landed on.

A few hours later, on the Great Fox: "Boy, you really know how to make an entrance." Peppy said. After appearing in Krystal's room, Jim decided to rejoin the team. The Star Fox team, needless to say, was a little more than overjoyed.

"When that thing said that you were dead, we thought that…" Fox started. Still clad in the attire he got from M78, he turned to the team.

"Well, I'm not. Ultras a harder to kill than you think. I'm just glad I killed that Metron before it could hurt anyone else, but, the town…" Jim said, a little sullen. Fox pat him on the shoulder.

"You did what you could. At least that thing's dead."

"By the way, where did you get the weird get-up?" Falco asked with a laugh, pointing to Jim's attire. The Ultra looked down at himself, then back at the avian.

"It's all that they could give me." Jim replied, shrugging.

"Along with a cape, no less." Falco added.

"Got something against the mantle?" Jim asked.

"Why?"

"It was my…Zenith's, father's." Jim replied sternly. This shut him up.

"Well, all that aside, it's great to have you back. Now, we can focus on the real deal."

"You mean Gorzul." Jim replied.

"Well, that is why you are here, right?" Peppy asked.

"Uh, right." Jim replied.

"something wrong?"

"Not really. Just a little tired, I guess."

"I don't blame ya. Coming back from the dead, then beating that alien sushi would wear anyone out." Slippy said with a grin. The Ultra returned it. After leaving the briefing room, Jim was headed for his quarters, his thoughts whirling inside his head. He had yet to tell Krystal what he was told when he was in the healing tube.

'Why can't I tell her? What am I afraid of?' he thinks. After arriving to his room, he opens the door, and sees that everything is as it was as he left it. He collapsed on the bed, exhausted. After several minutes, he decided to take a shower. After taking off the boots and tunic, he hung his mantle on the open door of the closet. After getting in the bathroom, he took off the pants, and got into the stall, turning on the water to hot. A few minutes later, there was a knock on his door. "Yeah." he answered from the shower.

"It's Krystal, may I come in?" the blue vixen asked.

"Yeah, I'm in the shower. I'll be right there." he answered. Krystal entered the room, the door leading to the bathroom open slightly. She looked around, pleased that she kept everything the way that it was. She saw the red cape hanging on the door of the open closet. She felt the material. It was softer than anything that she had ever felt before. She was tempted to wear it. At first, she resisted the urge to do so, but per usual, her curiosity got the better of her. She took it off of the door, and held it open, looking at the interior silver side, as well as the exterior crimson. She went to the mirror that was in front of the bed, on the dresser. She draped the cape over her shoulders, trying to get the chain to connect. She didn't notice the shower going off. Nor Jim stepping out with his pants back on. He saw the vixen with his mantle on, albeit awkwardly. He suppressed the urge to laugh. Krystal got the mantle on, but couldn't get the chain figured out right. It hung off of her shoulders at an awkward angle, the collar sticking up slightly. She looked at herself in the mirror, inspecting herself. Then, she saw Jim in the reflection, his arms folded across his chest, smirking in amusement. She gasped, and whirled. "That's a good look for you." he said, still grinning.

"I'm sorry. I just…"

"It's fine, Krys. If you wanted to try it out, all you had to do was just ask. Here, let me fix it for you." He went up to the vixen, and started to fiddle with the chain. He unfastened it, and reconnected it properly. He turned Krystal around, both of them facing the mirror. After smoothing the collar out a bit, Krystal looked at herself in the mirror with Jim behind her, still smiling. She grabbed the edges of the mantle, gently feeling the fabric of the cloth. It never lost any of its softness, nor luster. Jim rested his head on her shoulder, and the vixen held it in a hand. "Now, you look like royalty." Jim said, laughing a bit. Krystal giggled a bit.

"What does the mantle symbolize?" she asked.

"It's given to those who accomplished a great deed, earning them recognition. The most famous of Ultras wear them. My…father I guess I could call him, gave me this."

"It's so soft…" Krystal said.

"Mm-hmm. And, that's only one feature. Softer than any silk in any galaxy, but tougher than any metal or shield that can be conceived. My father said that, should the need ever arise, it will come to me when I call for it." The vixen turned to face the Ultra/human. He seemed different. It wasn't anything physical, but she could feel it. His eyes were not the same as before. They seemed harder, more mature than before.

"You feel…different." she said. Jim looked away.

"I'm not surprised. A lot of things have changed." he replied, sullenly.

"Like what?" she asked. He didn't answer. "Jim, tell me. If you tell me, I can help you."

"I'm not exactly Jim, anymore." he replied.

"What?" she asked, a slight laugh escaping her.

"I'm not really Jim anymore. I'm not a human anymore. During my recovery, I've changed." he said, coming eye-level with Krystal.

"I'm a full blooded Ultra now. My human half is gone."

"W-what?" Krystal asked, unable to understand.

"When I was wounded by Zorabia, it damaged my human body extensively. In order to save my life, my human self had to be sacrificed, and my body be made into a full Ultra. That's the reason why I looked slightly different back then. It's the result of my becoming a full Ultra. I didn't want to tell you this, because I was afraid it would change our relationship."

"Well, of course it wouldn't. Why would it? I've always seen you as a close friend, and I always will. Besides…" she said, placing a furry paw on the side of his face, "you don't look all that different." She smiled, and kissed Jim on the cheek. The Ultra/human blushed a bit as a result, making Krystal giggle in a girlish manner.

"But, you see me more than just a close friend, don't you?" he asked.

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"You see me as more than just a friend. It's something more, isn't it? I can feel it from you." Krystal paused.

"You're right. I feel more for you than just friendship. It's deeper than that. I feel that I can connect with you, better than the others. I feel like I…"

"Know me from somewhere before. It's hazy, but, it's certain…" he finished for her.

"…yes. How did you know?" she asked.

"Because…I've been feeling the same way as well. I feel like I've known you since childhood."

"But…how is that even possible? We've only known eachother for a year."

"I…don't know. But, we will find out, I promise." Jim gripped her shoulders tightly as he spoke to her. He didn't tell her about the dreams that he's been having. He felt it best to let things unravel themselves. Then, the alarm blared in Jim's room, startling the two of them.

"All personnel to the bridge. Repeat, all personnel to the bridge. Repeat…" ROB's monotone voice rang out through the ship. In seconds, the whole team assembled in the bridge, with Jim still in his M78 attire. On the main screen, was a phenomenon that was similar to what brought Zenith to the Lylat System, and Jim had a name for it.

"The Gate Way…" Jim said aloud. From the white hole, came something that made his heart sink; hundreds of ships flew out of the Gate Way, and he knew what kind they were. "So, it begins…" the Ultra/human said as the armada of Pedan, Shaplay, Keronia, Baltan, and many others began to converge on the Lylat System. Jim held his Spacium Brace to his heart, with it glowing on his heart.

To Be Continued….


	36. Gorzul's Invasion

Chapter 36

Gorzul's Invasion

Corneria: The planet was enjoying a peaceful day. After the week since Zenith battled the mad Ultra Kronos in Corneria City, the metropolis was going back to a sense of normalcy, after everything was rebuilt of course. The damage was extensive, but fortunately, it was doable in a week for the inhabitants. However, things will not be this peaceful for long. Descending from the sky, was the alien armada, hell-bent for the Cornerian capital. However, the city was not caught unawares. Having been told of the imminent threat by the Star Fox team, General Pepper marshaled all the forces that he possibly could. However, even with the fleet and army mobilized, it seemed hopeless. The Cornerian Cruisers floated above the city, escorted by a squadron of Cornerian Fighters each. The Landmaster battalions were mobilized at a moments notice, the tanks lining up in the streets of the city. The people had been evacuated to the shelters and underground, away from the fighting. However, none of them could have guessed the immense number of the armada. Hundreds strong, the armada was made up of ships from the Baltan, Shaplay, Keronian, Pedan, Guts, Villa, Varduck, and others. All ships converging on the small city ahead of them. The several dozen cruisers and Cornerian Fighter squadrons went forward to meet this threat, aided by the Star Fox team. The Great Fox was in the fleet of cruisers as well, the five arwings flying in front of the Dreadnaught class ship. Fox, Falco, Slippy, Krystal, and Jim were in their fighters, while Peppy and ROB stayed behind to act as tactical support. The Ultra/human of the group was itching to convert to his Ultra form. However, he kept his cool until he could see the enemy up close, and assess the situation better. Once the armada was in view, Jim felt his stomach turn into knots. He was counting the ships that were ahead of him, but he didn't need to, to know that the fleet and Star Fox team were greatly outnumbered.

Gorzul sat in its throne, a hissing cackle escaping from its hood. "At last, I have returned to the Lylat System!" Claire was standing beside the throne, looking at the image that swirled before them, the image of the Lylat System. "Soon, I will possess what I could not before. But first, I will destroy any and all opposition to my rule! Then, when they have been beaten back, they will know just who it was that had defeated them. And then I shall rule the LYLAT SYSTEM!" he shouted, standing up. "I have waited for an eternity for this moment. Once they have dealt with my armada, Corneria will be too weary to pose much of a challenge to me. I will sweep them aside like a great typhoon, then take what is rightfully mine!" Claire looked up at the cloaked figure, a slight smirk on her features.

"Of course, sire." Claire said, her eyes glowing lavender for a slight moment. Gorzul sat down in its throne once more, and waited in anticipation for the next move to be played.

It was chaos. Mere moments after meeting the enemy, all hell broke loose over Corneria City. The Cruisers rained laser fire on the saucers, while Cornerian Fighters assaulted the invader ships. However, despite their valiant efforts, they failed to do any major damage. For every ship destroyed, ten more took its place. The saucer-shaped Baltan, Shaplay and Guts ships went on to attack the cruisers, being the largest of the armada, while the Villa, Keronia, and Varduck ships repelled the fighters, the nimble craft breaking off to engage in dog-fights. Through it all, the Star Fox team tried their hardest to support the fleet. However, despite shooting and destroying numerous ships, they failed to do any lasting damage to their numbers. "There must be thousands of them!" Slippy wailed. The amphibian had two Villa spherical ships after him. "FOX! Get these guys off of me!"

"Slippy, hold on!" Fox shouted. He veered off from pursuing a Keronian ship, and sent a nova bomb to take care of the Villa ships. Both of them disappeared in a clod of fire and debris.

"Thanks, Fox. I thought they had me." Slippy said, relief evident in his voice and face. Jim, Falco and Krystal harried through a cluster of Villa ships, the ships themselves connected to eachother to form a large mass. While it increased their firepower, it left them a glaringly obvious weakness, one that Falco was all too happy to exploit. The avian let loose a nova bomb, taking out the cluster in one blast.

"Man, that was easy!" he said, having a predatory grin on his beak.

"Save some for us, Falco." Fox said.

"I think there's plenty to go around, Fox." Jim said. 'There has to be a better way than this. Fighting them ship to ship won't work, there's just too many of them.'

'Jim, I think now would be a good time for you to take matters into your own hands.' Krystal replied, telepathically. Sometimes, the Ultra/human finds the vixen's telepathy rather annoying.

'Thank you for stating the obvious.' Jim replied, a smirk on his face. "Fox, I'm gonna transform!"

"Music to my ears! Be careful, though, there's a lot of 'em!" Fox said. Jim's cockpit glowed crimson, then a bright red ball of light flew out of the arwing that he was in. The light landed on the ground, and the new Ultraman Zenith stood up. Minus the Ultra Mantle, the Warrior of Light took up a combat stance and flew up, firing his Slash Beam and Spacium Kousen left and right, vaporizing enemy ships by the dozen. However, even his power failed to do any more damage than the fleet itself. 'Not even Jim is doing a whole lot to them. Is there someway to take out the fighters all at once?' Fox wonders. Zenith hears his thoughts, and wonders the same thing. Evading white and red laser fire from the alien ships, Zenith jukes and weaves through the oncoming Invader laser storm. He tries to use his Ultra senses to feel for a signal or communications between the ships, to pinpoint whether or not there is a control signal being broadcast. There was none.

"FOX, I'm hit!" Krystal's arwing took a shot from a Pedan ship. The fighter was plummeting to the ground.

"No, Krystal!" Fox shouted. Zenith saw the fighter fall, and raced to it. The red and silver giant caught it in his hand, and holding it close to him, landed on the ground. Zenith set the fighter down gently, and looked up. On the ground, he could see the enormity of the Invaders' armada. The Baltans' Shaplays' and Guts' saucers were taking their toll on the fleet of Cornerian Cruisers, doing more damage to them than the Cornerian fleet can do to them. He also saw the Varduck, Villa and Keronia ships overwhelm the Cornerian Fighters and Star Fox team.

"ENOUGH!" Zenith shouted. His form glowed a bright orange and red, then flames appeared and danced on his body.

"Jim, what are you doing?" Fox shouted.

"I'm going to take out the fighters, so you can handle the other ships!" he replied.

"If you use that move, you could die!" Fox retorted.

"Don't underestimate me, Fox! We have no choice!" Zenith's body glowed brighter, and the flames grew. "Besides, I'm not planning on going nova."

"What?"

"If you guys don't wanna get burned, then get…out…of…my…WAY!" Zenith shouted. He raised his arms, and fire literally erupted out of his form. Firing like a stream, the flames ravaged the Invaders' ships. Taking his advice, the Cornerian Fighters and Star Fox team quickly escaped the raging inferno. However, the Invaders' armada was not as lucky. The raging Ultra Inferno washed over the alien craft, reducing them to so much ash and cinders. Zenith swept the fire all around him, making sure that there wasn't a survivor left to warn the rest of the ships to what happened. When Zenith lowered his arms, all that was left was smoldering wreckage falling around him and Krystal. Zenith's warning light was flashing at a rapid pace. The red and silver Warrior of Light fell to a knee, panting heavily, the Ultra Inferno taking a heavy toll on his energy reserves. His form glowed crimson, and he vanished. Fox and co. saw this, and feared the worst.

"Krystal, can you see Jim?" Fox asked. The vixen opened her canopy, and leapt out. After running to the spot where the Ultra stood, she found Jim on a knee, panting hard. The Ultra/human felt like he just ran a marathon.

"Jim!" Krystal shouted. Jim stood up and looked to see Krystal running towards him. "Are you alright?" she asked.

"Fine, just drained." he said, his voice sounding hoarse. He stumbled to the vixen, who caught the weak-kneed Ultra/human. He fought to stay awake, to not lose consciousness.

"You're sweating…" she said, concerned. Perspiration was coming off of him in droves.

"I'll be fine. But…the armada…" Jim looked up, and saw the Cornerian fighters and Star Fox engage the larger ships, but the Baltans and Shaplay turned their attention to the fighters, while the Guts remained to deal with the Cornerian Cruisers. The beleaguered fleet seemed to get a break of some sort, only having to deal with a third of the whole armada that they were up against, and renewed their efforts against the Guts' saucers. The Fighters and Star Fox ran assault runs on the Baltans and Shaplay ships, the smaller craft evading the laser fire coming at them. While the Cornerian Fighters were doing heavy damage to the larger saucers, it was the Arwings who dealt the coup de grace to them, their nova bombs and charged shots doing horrendous damage to the vulnerable spots on the aliens' ships.

"Krystal, is Jim alright?" Fox asked.

"He's fine, but he's exhausted." Krystal replied.

"When do you think he'll be able to transform?" Krystal looked at Jim, who shook his head weakly at her.

"Not for a while, yet. He needs to rest for a bit."

"We don't have a bit! We need him up here, right now!" Fox replied. Jim got up from beside Krystal, and took uneasy steps to the fight that raged above them. Inhaling deeply, he placed his Spacium Brace over his heart, where it flashed once, then died. Jim's arm fell to his side, the Ultra/human dropping to a knee again.

"Jim!" She moved to Jim's side, holding his shoulders.

"I have to transform, help the others…" Then, he collapsed. Krystal held him close to her. Before he blacked out, he smiled. "Help…is on…the way, Krystal-chan." he said, before losing consciousness. Then, as if on cue, the sky above them grew brighter, and several red orbs descended from the clouds above. Numbering in the dozens, the red spheres took on humanoid shapes. Krystal recognized them once the transformations were done.

"Ultramen!" she said. Jim had a content look upon his face. "So that's it. Jim sent a message to his people…" Krystal said to herself. The Ultras attacked the Invaders' ships en mass. Strafing their laser weapons across the hulls of the large craft, the saucers were instantly reduced to so much debris and rubble. The Baltans and Shaplay tried to fight back, but were outmatched by the Space Garrison Space Forces. The Guts' saucers, after seeing their comrades die at the hands of the Space Garrison forces, decided to beat a hasty retreat. However, two Ultras halted their retreat; Zoffy and Hayata destroyed the ships promptly with their weaponry. When all was destroyed, the pair descended upon the ground. The giants looked down upon the vixen holding the unconscious Jim. Hayata shrunk in size, being no bigger than a man, and reverting to his human guise of Shin Hayata. The Ultra/human wore the same outfit as Jim did, but with a robe instead of a tunic. The other Ultra looked old, at least sixty years, judging by the wrinkles and grey hair. He walked over to the pair, and looked down upon the still form of Jim. "You're…" Krystal began.

"A friend." Hayata finished, a friendly smile on his wizened face. Krystal smiled back. Hayata took out his Beta Capsule, and held it over Jim's body.

"What are you doing?" Krystal asked.

"Just rousing him." Hayata replied. The Capsule flashed once, and Jim's eyes shot open. He sat up, and looked around, until his gaze rested on the oldster.

"Father!" he shouted, getting up. The oldster chuckled, and clasped his son on the shoulders.

"Good work, Zenith. We received your message in time and dispatched the enemy fleet. Everything is alright, now." Jim nodded quickly, a grin on his face. Krystal stood in the background, seeing the pair. She allowed herself a slight smile, seeing the father and son scene before her. Fox, Slippy, and Falco landed near them, and got out of their arwings, making their way to the trio. Zoffy stood over them, watching the scene before him.

"Who's this guy?" Falco asked. Jim turned, and introduced Shin to the Star Fox team.

"So, this is your father?" Slippy asked. "You look different when you're not…you know…big." Shin laughed in amusement.

"**Member Hayata, we have pressing matters to attend to,"** Zoffy's voice boomed. Jim and Shin looked up, as did everyone else. The Oldster nodded, then turned to the Star Fox team.

"Zoffy is right. We must meet with your General Pepper, immediately." Falco and Fox looked at eachother, while Slippy replied for them.

"Uhm, General Pepper doesn't see just anyone. Usually we don't even see him until he has a mission for us."

"**That is fine. He is expecting us in any case."**

"Alright, Mr. Big, if you say so."

"Falco, show some respect! That's my superior you're talkin' to!" Jim said, irritated at the avian's attitude. Zoffy slightly shook his head, and Shin masked a laugh. After reducing to the size of a human, Zoffy, along with Jim and Shin who transformed to their Ultra forms, flew toward the CACC, where General Pepper waited for them. After materializing in his office, the wizened blood-hound hardly looked surprised. In fact, he smiled when he saw the sight.

"I was beginning to wonder when you people would show up." he said, still smiling. Zenith reverted to his human guise and moved towards Pepper's desk.

"You know why these two are here, yes?" he asked. Pepper nodded.

"I asked them to come here, so they can shed some light on the subject and not have a repeat of what had happened last time. And in order to do that, I think it would be best to wait until the rest of the Star Fox team shows up. Wouldn't you agree, Jim?" Pepper asked, not losing his smile. Jim nodded.

"About that…" Shin started, Pepper turned his attention to the other Ultra. "The sole reason for that was…"

"To prevent the Council of Ultra from destroying the Lylan race, to bring back the dead humans that had lived before us thousands upon thousands of years before they went extinct. Jim, or Zenith as you call him, has already filled me in on that little bit your history. I don't blame him at all for keeping it a secret, and it seems like the others have forgiven him as well for the deception. After all, if we knew, then that would have been our death, yes?" Shin was surprised by this, and Jim covered his laugh. "Well, all we have to do now, is just wait for the others to arrive, which should be shortly." Indeed the Ultras didn't have to wait long. After about twenty minutes or so, the five members of the Star Fox team came calling. After being bidden to enter, they found the three Ultras, one still in his Ultra form while the other two were in their human guises, waiting for them inside the office, all three having their mantles on. They turned to face the anthros.

"Gee, thanks for waiting, Jim. You could've at least warn us before you pulled your little disappearing act." Falco said, crossing his wings across his chest while having a disapproving look upon his face.

"Right, well, we had to get here in a hurry. This couldn't wait for us to go at the pace of an arwing." Jim retorted, rolling his eyes.

"What's _that_ supposed to mean?" the avian asked, confrontationally. Jim was unflinching.

"We have not time for this." Zoffy stated. "The reason why we couldn't wait for you, is because we have something of vital importance to tell your general. We had planned on having Zenith relay the information back to you, but Pepper insisted on having you all here." He sighed, and went on. "In any case, we were fortunate that we had only to deal with such a small invasion force."

"'Small invasion force'?" Falco almost shouted. "You call that small? It didn't look small to me, buddy!"

"Falco's right." Peppy added. "You showed up just after Jim had dealt with half of the armada. You weren't here for the main course."

"We know about Villa, Varduck, and Keronia ships that Zenith had dealt with, along with the Baltan, Shaplay, and Guts ships that your fleet had tangled with. Rest assured, your prowess was never in doubt."

"Wait, wait, back up a second. You mean, you were there that whole time while we were getting our butts handed to us, and you never thought to lift so much as a _finger_ to help us?" the avian asked, incredulously. "Is that how you normally treat people you wanna be friends with?"

"Correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe it was _you_ who said that was tired of having all of the glory stolen by someone inexperienced." Zoffy replied, pointing at Falco. the avian shut his beak after that. "Zenith has been sending regular reports about his mission here, and his descriptions about you, and your efficiency as a team is what led us to believe that you were capable of handling the situation. After all, it was Zenith himself who said that you people were the real heroes here, not us, and that we could never replace you. We were simply trying to comply with your wishes as to remain as the people's guardians." Falco stammered and couldn't get two words out coherently.

"Well, I, uhh, that is-well…" Jim smiled to himself.

"What all have you heard about us?" Fox asked, looking over to Jim. Shin answered that.

"We have been monitoring Zenith since his awakening. As a result, we have also been monitoring you as well. And so far, both our findings and Zenith's reports seem to collaborate the fact that you people are highly adaptable, battle-hardened, and above all, tenacious. We were hoping to see some of that ourselves, and we were not disappointed."

"Reports? What reports?" Fox asked, turning to Jim.

"You do remember that Zenith is a member of the Space Garrison forces, yes? As such, he is required to send in a regular report detailing his activities and progress on the assignment he was given. Merely standard operating procedure, I assure you." Zoffy replied. Falco turned an angry glare to Jim.

"You're sending reports, now? When did this happen?"

"When I became a member of the Space Garrison." Jim answered casually. "Like Zoffy said, it's standard operating procedure. You guys do the same for General Pepper after all." Fox merely shrugged in agreement. He was, after all, a member of the Ultra race, _and_ the Star Fox team.

"Can we please get back to the issue at hand?" Zoffy asked. "Good. The reason why we are here, is to tell you that, yes, Gorzul does have a larger force at his disposal than the one that you faced off against."

"How much larger?" Peppy asked.

"About ten times the size of the one that we took on today, if not greater." Shin replied.

"Ten times?" Fox asked, his jaw dropping. "No force _anywhere_ is that big! The largest one that we had to deal with was Andross's armada, and it was roughly the size of the one that we just tangled with!"

"No force anywhere _here_, you mean. You forget that those ships came from the Ultraverse. My world." Jim replied. "It seems that Gorzul is mustering all the forces that he can to take the system."

"But why? If his forces are so vast, why bother with us? We're no match for him." Peppy replied.

"We don't know. He's after something in this system, and until we find out what it is, we need to be on the alert at all times. We can't afford to be complacent, especially during a crisis such as this." Jim said sternly.

"So, we just wait around for the next attack to hit?" Fox asked. Jim shook his head.

"We need to find Gorzul himself. We find him and take him out before he can bring his full invasion force to bear. That last armada was, more than likely, the largest one that he can summon right now, until he can completely master the manipulation of the Gate Ways, which should be impossible."

"You people were able to." Slippy replied. Jim shook his head.

"Only partially, just enough to move a handful of us at a time from place to place. The armada must have drained his resources considerably. We don't think that he can completely control the Gate Ways for awhile yet. We need to use that time to find and kill him, before he can summon every single Invader in the Ultraverse and bring them down to bear on the Lylat System."

"Great, so how do we find him?" Krystal asked.

"We're still working on that." Jim replied.

"Oh. Fantastic. That's just great." Falco scoffed. Jim whirled to face him.

"Well when you get some kind of master plan, you let us know, huh?" he shouted at the avian. Falco shut his beak while the Ultra glared at him, his steel grey eyes burning fiercely. Shin Hayata put a hand on his shoulder, as if to hold him back. Jim looked behind him, and saw the look on the oldster's face. He relaxed, and regained his composure. "We don't have a means on locating him, _yet_. But, we are currently working on it. The Gate Way signature that appeared with the armada has been recorded and logged. We will cross-reference it, and see if it can be used to track down Gorzul. Other than that…" Jim shrugged.

"Do we know where or when he will strike?" Pepper asked.

"Your guess is as good as ours. However, we have a good idea that he will try to take Corneria again."

"How do you figure?"

"Corneria is the center of your government. He takes it down, the whole system falls, right?" Jim asked. Pepper said nothing, nor did anyone else.

Just outside of the Lylat system: A large dark mass was floating freely in space. It was easily the size of a planet, with several other bodies close to it. In the interior, Gorzul sat upon his throne. He had expected the loss of armada, and also of the Ultras' involvement. However, that will only serve him in the end. Then, a figure materialized before him. Standing before him, bowing slightly, was Claire. The she-wolf came out of her bow slowly, before addressing the cloaked figure himself. "Lord Gorzul. You summoned me here?" she asked, indignity showing ever so slightly.

"It is time for you to take action, my child. Go now to the planet Corneria, and wreak havoc to your heart's content. I know how long you have been waiting to do precisely that." Claire's muzzle betrayed a smile that promised death as the she-wolf disappeared in a plume of violet flames, leaving the room empty, save for Gorzul himself.

A few hours later on the Great Fox, Jim was in his quarters. He got out his old uniform, the one he wore while he was still with Star Fox. While still technically on the team, he hasn't felt like a real part of it since he returned from M78 after his fight with Kronos and the Council of Ultra. He held the black and dark blue uniform, remembering his time with the team. How he was found by Krystal just before the Earth that he knew was destroyed. How Fox's initial distrust led to his temporary leave of the team and his dealings with Thomas Addleson. 'God, it's been so long since I thought about Addleson and my clone. It seems like a life-time ago since I destroyed Alpha, and Addleson died from his own experiments.' In that time, he had learned who he truly was, and how the Council of Ultra planned to destroy the Lylan race to bring back the dead humans, and how he had suffered a critical injury that made him give up his human self and become a full Ultra after his battle with them. All of this was racing through his mind at a million miles an hour. He was still clad in his clothing he got from M78, and hadn't even thought of putting his old uniform on. Until now. There was a knock on his door, but Jim paid it no heed. Then, the door opened, and Krystal walked in. She saw the engrossed Jim standing in front of his dresser, holding his old uniform. Krystal walked up behind him, and embraced him. For the first time in almost a year, he was startled. He turned suddenly, and sighed when he saw Krystal.

"Did I startle you?" she asked, smiling.

"A little." Jim replied, smiling sheepishly. Krystal laughed.

"What's so funny?" Jim asked.

"It's been a while since I caught you by surprise. You've changed since then."

"Since when?"

"Since I first met you on Earth." Krystal replied. "I remember how you were just a boy back then, more than a little hesitant to accept your power. How you were unsure of where it was that your power came from. Now, after you've matured, you seem so sure of yourself. You've grown up, James Howards." It's been so long since he's been called that. Jim smiled a bit at that.

"I guess I have. Then again, a lot can happen over a year. Especially when you have a brush with death." Krystal continued to hold him from behind. Jim rested his head against hers, feeling the soft fur against his face. The vixen snuggled up against him, while the Ultra held his uniform in his hands. Then, he turned, and kissed her forehead tenderly. Holding her in his arms, Jim looked down upon the vixen. He had grown slightly since he was with the team, once he was about equal height with Krystal. Now, he stood over her. The vixen looked up, and smiled at him. Krystal rested her head against his chest, her eyes closed. Jim continued to hold her close. He wanted to tell her. He wanted to tell her so badly. What he wanted, what he needed, what he wanted to do with, and for, her. But, he knew that he can't. At least, not yet. Not until all has been said and done, not until everything has been settled between him and Gorzul, and the demon rendered to nothing more than just another nightmare forgotten by the rising morning sun. Then, he will tell her.


	37. The Beginning, pt1

Chapter 37

The Beginning Pt.1

In the void between worlds, in the place that the Ultras call the Cross Roads, a being waits. Clad in a robe and cloak, he watches over the world of the Lylat System. "Now, my daughter, is the time for your destiny to finally unfold." Having said this, The Krazoa Spirits, eternal beings born at the dawn of Lylat's beginning, set out to their task.

Great Fox: Krystal was passed out in her room. A day had passed since the Invaders' armada had attempted to take Corneria. The Great Fox circled the planet, and the military was on full alert, ready for anything and everything. However, even during this crisis, one can still find some measure of peace, some measure of rest. However, Krystal's rest would be short-lived. In her sleep, her ear twitched, then she stirred, then awakened to a sight that she hardly expected; the Krazoa Spirits floated about her room, hovering this way and that in a seemingly aimless fashion. Getting up with a start, the vixen got out of her bed and looked around at the blue-tinted free-floating beings, one thought in her mind: 'Why are they here?' As if to answer her question, the Krazoa entered her one by one. Then, she found herself being transported to the same realm that she had visited when she and Jim went to Sauria for the first time. The shimmering blue back-ground hadn't changed. Then, the same Krazoa Spirit appeared before her, this time the size of a man. "What's going on? Why am I here?" she asked.

"It is now time for you to fulfill your part of the prophecy, one with the Power of the Soul."

"W-what?"

"The one that you know as Jim cannot defeat the evil alone, mighty as he may become. It will take your strength as well to defeat the entity called Gorzul."

"But, what can I do? What is this 'Power of the Soul'?"

"Head to Sauria, child. Go to the place that you were taught in the ways of the warrior and your people. There, you will find the answer."

"But, what about Jim? Shouldn't he come with me?"

"This is one journey that you alone must undertake. Just as he undertook his awakening, so you must do the same. But, you must hurry. There is not much time left. Gorzul is now gathering all of the forces that it can muster, and bring them all down upon you."

"One more thing. Why is Gorzul so intent on taking the Lylat System?"

"You will know the answer on Sauria, just as Zenith will soon know. Now go." The void became a blinding radiance, forcing the vixen to shield her eyes. When she lowered her arms, the void was replaced with her room. She looked around, the memory of the experience still fresh in her head. After getting dressed, the blue-furred vixen headed for the hangar where her arwing was docked. After climbing up the steps, she was about to hop into her fighter.

"Leaving already?" a voice asked. She whirled, and saw Jim standing there, hands in his pocket, wearing a friendly smile. Krystal faced the Ultra.

"I'm sorry, but you can't come with me on this journey. This is something that I must do alone."

"I know. I've felt it. Just…be careful out there, okay?" Krystal smiled, and nodded. After her arwing launched, Jim's smile was replaced with a thoughtful frown. 'What will she find out there, I wonder?' Krystal's arwing streaked out in space, heading for the trans-warp gate-way that will lead her to Sauria. If what the Krazoa Spirit had said is true, then it must have meant to head for the place where she was rescued and taught by a hermit living on Sauria: Just before Cerinia was destroyed, her parents put Krystal in an escape pod, hoping that the craft will take her far from the cataclysm that was going to happen in just a few short minutes. As soon as she was out of range, the blue-furred kit saw her home planet blaze over, leaving the once blue and green world a dead-grey rock in space, incapable of supporting life. She was the last Cerinian in the known universe. The thought hit her like a slap to the face, and the kit sobbed herself to sleep that time. When she awakened, she found herself on a lush planet full of prehistoric creatures, both benign and malevolent. She survived for a week on the planet using her own instincts and training that she received practically since birth. Then, she was found by him. Believing to be the last of her kind, she was more than a little surprised to see another Cerinian vulpine living on the planet, a mage and hermit of a sorts. He helped raise the young kit, showing her the ways of armed and unarmed combat, survival training, even homing her natural abilities in ways that she didn't think possible. He even taught her how to use the staff that survived along with her to the most of its abilities, and how to communicate with the Krazoa Spirits. He was everything to her. Ever since she was rescued by Fox, she had lost touch with him. She wondered if he even still lived. Entering the Planet's airspace, Krystal set the coordinates for the hermit's home that she knew by heart. She landed the small fighter in a clearing with a hovel sitting just a few yards from the parking fighter. After jumping out, Krystal trotted to the little hovel that served as her home for years. The hovel itself was situated in between two large trees, on the edge of a great forest. The chimney coming out of the side of the top of the hovel had smoke coming out of it, alerting Krystal that she was not alone here. Entering the home, she saw the interior, and saw that much was left unchanged; the stove attached to the chimney was on, where a table and two chairs sat in front of it, and two beds sitting in front of eachother along the edge of the hovel. The interior was dimly lit, but sufficient to see the inside. Seeing the inside again filled her with a type of nostalgia that she hardly felt, a type that one generally feels when one has been away from home for far too long. She walked over one of the cots, and traced its outline with her hand, letting her memories coming back to flood her mind. Unbeknownst to her, a shadow entered the flap that lead to the outside. However, her reflexes automatically got her staff out, and she parried a blow from behind. The figure was dressed in a cloak, wielding a staff of dark brown wood. Both held that stance for what seemed like an eternity, before the cloaked figure lowered his staff.

"I'm glad that my teachings had not waned since you have been away." he said, in a voice that betrayed advanced age, yet sounded strong enough to belong to a soldier. He removed his hood, revealing a blue fox, much like Krystal, except more masculine, and older. The other vulpine sported a thin mustache and beard, with grey patches showing in his blue fur. There was even a streak of grey going through both sides of his head. "You seem rather surprised to see me, Krystal." he replied, smiling slightly.

"I didn't think that you'd still be alive, master Xetulu. When I left here, two years ago…"

"You think I'd just up and die when you left?" he asked, raising an eyebrow in amusement. He laughed. "I was overjoyed that you had gone. I knew who it was that had rescued you from the Krazoa Palace. It's just too bad that the rascal already has a chosen. Personally, I think that you're too good for him, anyway." Krystal laughed a bit herself with her mentor. "However, I do know about the other who has caught your fancy, though. This…Jim as you call him. He has potential, being a soldier of both worlds. Although a bit young, even for you. I always figured you went for the older types." he said, smiling at her slightly blushing face. "However, he is part of the reason that you are here now, yes?" Krystal nodded, and Xetulu grunted in agreement. "Come. Let us head for the Krazoa Palace. There, you will learn much, and hopefully in time to turn things around before they get even worse." The two vulpines headed out of the hovel, and towards the Warp Stone.

Great Fox, at that time: Falco was pacing across the bridge of the Great Fox, while everyone else was working at his own console. "Man, I can't take this!" Falco shouted. "When is the action gonna start? I'm getting sick of all this waiting!"

"Falco, if you can't find something productive to do, then kindly leave the bridge until you are needed." Jim said calmly, going over the readout on his console. The avian stared at him.

"Listen pal! Maybe you can sit here and wait patiently, but I'm a man of action! I need to get out there, and blow the bad guys up. That's what I'm made for!"

"And when some finally do show up, you'll be the first to know, Falco. After all, your skill as the ace pilot in the Star Fox team is well known in my reality as well." Jim replied without taking his attention off of the console. "Hey, I don't need this! We shouldn't be sitting around on our arses, we should be out there, looking for the Gorzul guy, and ripping him a friggin' new one!" Falco shot back.

"This guy isn't like Andross. He's a whole lot worse than him, if that's who you were comparing him to."

"And how would you know? Have you ever fought Andross before? Go on, tell us all about how you beat Andross, then maybe I'll listen to ya!" the room was silent, which is all that Falco needed. "See? You don't know what Andross is like! So don't compare Gorzul with someone you know next to nothing about!" Jim rolled his eyes, and continued on. He knew the routine well enough; Falco gets bored, Falco complains, Falco annoys other team members with his boredom, either Jim or Fox has to shut Falco up with either verbal or physical abuse. He knew it all by heart, since he had to deal with it since his first few months with the team. He was starting to envy Krystal right now, who was well and away to God knows where, far away from all of this. As if picking up his thought, Slippy chimed in.

"Hey, has anyone seen Krystal anywhere? I haven't seen her all day." Jim felt himself pause for a moment, then continued on with his work.

"Why don't we ask Jim over there? After all, he's her boyfriend." Falco chimed. Jim let out a slight frustrated sigh. "They do say that when two people are in love, they feel some sort of connection with eachother, like they know exactly what the other is thinking, or even what they're going to do. So, how about, Jim? Since you are Krystal's designated boyfriend, you have any clue where she went?" Falco asked, peering over the young man's shoulder. Jim tried to ignore him, but the avian just wouldn't let it go. "Jim, I'm talking to you. Hello, anyone home?" he asked, waving a feathered hand in front of him. Jim promptly caught it in his own hand, and gradually applied pressure to the limb. Falco let out a pained yelp of surprise, and tried to pull away. When He did release the avian, Falco stumbled back into Slippy's place, nearly knocking the amphibian over. "What the heck, man?" Falco shouted.

"Krystal isn't here. She's taking care of business of her own. That's all I know." Jim replied, not turning away from his console. However, the Ultra's thoughts were not on the data that streamed before him. 'Krystal…'

Sauria, at that time: The journey to the Warp Stone was shorter than Krystal remembered it was. At least, since she was a child. The golem, roused from its slumber, looked down upon the pair, and said in a Scottish accent "Ah, master Xetulu, and the lovely young Krystal. It's been ages since the two of ye had visited here." The smile on the golem's face was evident enough, and Krystal returned it. She remembered the Warp Stone fairly well, even how she had given it a piece of 'rock candy' for the first time. Such an experience shall never leave her. Xetulu was still business as usual.

"I'm afraid that we are not here for idle chit-chat, old friend."

"Aye, I know where ye are headed. The Spirits are all excited to know that you are coming to see them, lass. Like, they have something very important to tell ye." As Krystal stepped forward, Xetulu remained behind. The vixen noticed, and looked back.

"You're not coming?" she asked. Xetulu shook his head.

"I serve another part in this journey. I must go another way for now, though I shall be here when you return. Hopefully, you will know enough for me to tell you everything." Puzzled, Krystal stepped forward onto the golem's hand, and disappeared in a flash of light. Xetulu then walked up to the Warp Stone. "You know where to send me, old friend?" he asked, expecting the same answer.

"Of course, laddie. After all, you were the one who had constructed me for this very purpose." the golem replied with an amused tone. Xetulu smiled a bit, then walked onto the hand of the Warp Stone. Then, he was gone in a flash of light as well.

Krazoa Palace: Krystal stepped onto the stone floor that served as the balcony leading to the entrance of the Krazoa Palace. The towers reaching up into the stormy clouds gave it an imposing look, while the platform that held the crystal that had served as her prison until Fox had rescued her was higher still. She entered the doorway, and went down the hallway, leading to the same platform that she and Jim had used to reach the chamber where the Spirits resided. After stepping onto it, the vixen was transported to the chamber of the Spirits, the same room with the large Krazoa head in the middle of the wall, looking sightlessly at something very far away. Krystal looked up, and felt a familiar presence. She turned, and one of the Krazoa Spirits floated past her. Then, all six of them were floating around her. As she expected, the six Spirits entered her, and she found herself in the void where the Spirits communicated with her. The same Krazoa Spirit, the one that wore the ceremonial robe and humanoid body, stood before her, as if it were expecting her. "You said that once I came here, I'd know the reason why Gorzul was so adamant on taking the Lylat system."

"The reason, is because Gorzul is someone that you have fought before."

"What do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"When Cerinia was destroyed, what all do you remember?"

"I remember being placed in an escape pod, a craft that I had never seen before in my life, and being jettisoned into space, as Cerinia was reduced to nothing more than a rock in space." she said bitterly.

"And after that?"

Puzzled, Krystal went on. "I ended up on Sauria after a few days of travel. Then, I ran into Xetulu, who was a hermit living there. He taught me how to survive, how to use my staff, everything I know I learned from him. He was the closest thing I ever had to a father. Then, when I was nineteen, I headed to the Palace, sensing a distress call coming from here, and was trapped by Andross. Then, I was saved by Fox." Her face had a nostalgic look to it. "That was the first time I fell for someone. However, after he introduced me to Fara, I felt alone again, even when I was surrounded by friends. Then, there was the Aparoid assault a year later, and how we nearly died in that conflict. Then, almost a year after that, I had an accident while testing the warp drive system on my arwing, and I ended up on Earth. And that's where I met…Jim." Krystal looked like she was seeing something very far away, her face having a dream-like state to it. "He helped heal my wounds, and took me into his home. When the Great Fox came to get me, I felt compelled to bring him with me. I felt that, with him, I wouldn't be alone anymore. And I was right. We have been through so much together, and now, with this crisis coming at us, I feel certain that we will need eachother more than ever."

"Your feelings do you credit. You are right, in that this crisis will indeed bring you closer together. However, it will also test you, in ways that you didn't think possible. There may come a time, when to save everyone around you, you must give up something precious to you."

"Something…precious to me?"

"Something that you hold dear in your heart. Something that you may not have imagined being parted from."

"You mean…Jim. Why, what will happen?" she asked, getting worried.

"You may have to give him up, in order to protect all those around you. He may have to do the same as well."

"He would never give me up." Krystal stated, not flinching.

"No, not willingly. However, he may have to in order to protect all those who he cares about, including you."

"Including…me?"

"Gorzul will do everything in its power to destroy you all. It is obsessed with the subjugation and domination of all things, including the Lylat System. However, Gorzul has a particular want for Lylat."

"Why? You said that I would know the reason why Gorzul is here. Why is he here? Is it because of Jim?"

"Partly, yes, but also because it wishes to finish what it had started."

"And what's that?"

"It wishes to dominate the Lylat system, since it couldn't do it the first time."

"What do you mean 'the first time'? Has Gorzul been to the Lylat System before?"

"More than that. I will show you." The Krazoa lifted its arm at Krystal, and before the vixen could ask what it was doing, there was a sharp sensation in her head, like there was an acute blood-rush going to her brain. Then, images flooded her mind, almost indiscernible, but she could make them out after a bit. The first one was an image of space, specked with stars is different constellations and patterns. Krystal looked around, and saw nothing but the star-specked reaches of space, but could not recognize any of the constellations. She looked down, and saw nothing but space, yet her feet looked like they were firmly planted on…something. Then, it became devoid of stars in moments, to be replaced with a void of pure blackness. It was looking down a very dark, very large hole. Then, two red eye-shaped lights appeared, and an evil laugh was heard. One that the cerulean vixen could've sworn that she had heard from somewhere before. Before long, planets were in view, and the darkness swept over them, their inhabitants looking up and screaming in fear as permanent darkness shrouded them, and death embraced them. However, there was one world where the darkness could not overtake. A shining planet that was like a sun, and it was one that Krystal had a name for, for Jim talked about it enthusiastically.

"The Land of Light…." the vixen whispered. Indeed, the homeworld of the Ultras was shining like a beacon of hope in the darkness, unyielding to the evil that it held. Then, six figures went out to meet the darkness. Krystal guessed who they were, and was right when she saw Zoffy, Hayata, Seven, Jack, Ace, and Taro rush up and meet the blackness head-on. After what seemed like hours, The Ultras were weary from their fight with the darkness, their energy beginning to fade, despite being so close to the Land of Light. However, they had one last ace up their sleeves; Hayata turned to his brethren.

"My brothers, we must seal this darkness away, if we are not able to destroy it. We cannot allow it to go on feeding on the helpless as it has been for so long." The others nodded in agreement. The darkness looked like it still had plenty of fight left, despite the lengthy battle it had with the famous heroes. The Ultras gathered behind Hayata, and let their light flow into him. Hayata raised his hands, and the void was surrounded by light, and Krystal could hear the thing, somehow, scream, as if in agony. In the energy field of light, the thing seemed as if to spasm about, like attempting to break free. However, the Ultra Brothers, defenders of this universe, dragged the entity of darkness to the Land of Light. There, it was taken and sealed away, never to be released upon the inhabitants of the universe, or any other for that matter. And thus, the entity called Gorzul has remained. Krystal saw all of this, and looked around at the Land of Light, seeing Jim/Zenith's homeworld for the first time, and was captivated by what she saw; the whole world seemed to be made up of lights of all kinds and colors. Above her, it seemed as if it was nothing but an Aurora Borealis in place of a regular sky, while the ground looked to be made of a reflective crystal, with crystalline structures jutting out in what seemed to be a city of some type, judging by the shape of the towering structures. And all around, were the Ultras. All kinds, reds, blues, soft-featured and hard-featured, all kinds dwelled here. Some of them even flew from place to place. Also, humans, or what appeared to be humans, walked among the red/blue and silver people, even talking and chatting with them as if they were old friends, dressed in the same attire that Jim was when he returned from the Land of Light. She walked among them, looking around. The beings, both Ultra and humanoid, seemed to ignore her, as if she were not really there. She even bumped into one of them by accident, but to her surprise, she merely passed through him. Surprised, she tried to tap one of them on the shoulder, and her whole hand went through his body as if he were merely a holographic image. She pulled her hand out, and looked at it, seeing no abnormalities of any sort.

"These people will not see or hear you." the Krazoa's voice said. "These people are only an image from memory."

"But whose memory, I wonder?" Krystal wondered. Then, she saw him. Running with an Ultra girl, an Ultra boy, roughly around eight years of age, came right at her. Although unable to get a good enough look, she did see that he was familiar, as did the girl. After running past her, she decided to follow them. After leaving the city and headed for a field with grass and crystals did the pair finally stop.

"Zenith, we shouldn't be out here." the girl called. Now Krystal knows. This is Zenith's memory from when he was a child in M78. And the girl with him was none other than Lillith.

"If you're so scared, Lillith, then go back to Illuminada. Me, I'm going to be a brave warrior like my father, so I _have _to be out here." Then, he turned and went on, followed by Lillith and Krystal. After what seemed like several minutes, the trio came to a place that seemed hauntingly familiar to the blue-furred vixen. When Zenith ran atop a hill, that's when he, Lillith, and Krystal heard a voice.

"Help me…help me…" It seemed to echo across the landscape. Zenith turned this way and that, trying to discern the source.

"Where are you?" he called.

"Please…help me…I'm dying and trapped…won't you please help me?" the voice called. It was like the voice of a woman in distress, carried by the wind.

"Tell us where you are!" Zenith called again.

"Zenith, maybe we should go…" Lillith started, getting behind her friend. The Ultra boy turned to the girl.

"No way. If someone here is in trouble, then we have to help. Besides, this will prove to my father that I _am_ ready to be a warrior." With that, Zenith turned, and followed where the voice was coming from. Lillith and Krystal followed. Soon, the trio came to what appeared to be a barren patch of Earth, devoid of any vegetation or crystalline life of any sort. Zenith stopped here, as did Lillith and Krystal, and that's when the vixen realized where they were.

'Oh no. this is where…' Before she could finish her thought, the voice sang out, louder still.

"Please free me. I'm trapped here…"

"Where are you?" Zenith shouted.

"I am here…" The Ultras whirled.

"Where?" Zenith called again.

"Beneath you…" the reply came. Both Ultras and vixen looked down at the barren ground. Zenith knelt down, placing a hand on the earth. "Please help me…" the voice said with such suddenness that Zenith inadvertently jerked his hand back. Lillith was hiding behind Zenith now.

"Zenith, _please_, let's just go!" Lillith pleaded.

"Don't leave…If you help me, I'll do something nice for you…"

"Something…nice?" Zenith asked.

"I know who you are, Zenith, son of Shodai Ultraman, also known as Ultraman Hayata."

"How do you know my name?" Zenith asked. The voice chuckled in amusement.

"I know all about you. I know how you want to be a brave hero like your father is. If you help me, I can help you…" the voice said, with a hint of seduction in it. But Zenith didn't seem to notice. The boy was too entranced with what the voice had told him, and with what it promised.

"How can you help me?" he asked.

"I can make you stronger than any Ultra." the voice said, almost confidently. "Stronger than your father, Ace, Jack, Seven, Taro, even commander Zoffy himself. You'd be the top warrior and most famous hero in the Land of Light."

"Really?" Zenith asked in wonder.

"But, only if you help me." the voice said. "So please, won't you help me?" the voice asked, plea evident in its voice. Zenith was rooted to the spot. However, Lillith was more than willing to bolt out of there.

"Zenith, _let's go!_" she practically shouted, tugging on the young Ultra. However, Zenith wouldn't budge an inch. He kneeled, transfixed to that one spot. "It's tricking you, Zenith! Please, let's just go!" Lillith kept tugging, but the boy still wouldn't budge.

"What do I have to do?" he asked. The voice replied, with a little more seduction evident.

"Just put your hands on the spot that you are on, and just wish me out. That's all you have to do."

"Zenith, no!" Lillith tried to pull him away, but felt shoved away from him by an unseen force. Landing several yards from him, Lillith looked up, and felt horror well up, as did Krystal. The vixen ran up to him as he placed his hands on the barren earth.

"Just wish. That is all." the voice said. Krystal tried to grab Zenith and pull him away, but her hands just passed through him.

"Zenith, Jim, no don't!" Krystal called. Lillith ran up for another try, but then, a purple-ish light erupted around Zenith. The Ultra boy looked around in shock.

"Wh-what's happening?" he shouted. Krystal felt it, as Jim first described it to her when he unleashed Gorzul, like an icy wind billowing forth. Then, an evil laugh, full of malice and hate, erupted from everywhere and nowhere. It was at first feminine, then deepened to that of a voice that sounded akin to rocks being grinded to meal.

"_**Thank you, young fool, for releasing me from my prison." **_The light gathered above the two young Ultras and vixen, and it became the darkness that Krystal saw the Ultra Brothers battle. The two youngsters were frozen in fear by what they saw. In the darkness, two eye-shaped red lights appeared, along with an orifice resembling a mouth full of razor-sharp teeth. It opened its 'mouth', and laughed. Shadows began to stretch over the field where the two youngsters were, and they huddled together, looking up at the darkness with abject fear. Then, parts of the shadow began to fade away, as piercing lights stabbed through. Some were of one color, while others were of different hues. Then, they came; descending upon the two children, and circling around them in a protective ring, the Ultra Brothers looked up at the horror that they thought they had sealed away. Following the Brothers were the rest of the Space Garrison forces. Ultras who had just earned their Warrior of Light status joined the seasoned veterans in the fight. The darkness known as Gorzul merely laughed at them. "_**Ahhh, my old friends**_," it said in a gravelly voice. _"__**It has been so long since we last encountered eachother. I had hoped to run into you before I departed this despicable planet.**__"_

"Gorzul, we will never let you leave here alive." Hayata said, pointing at the thing. "Your evil will spread itself throughout the cosmos of our universe, and into others. That much we know about your desires. We will not let you have your way!" Hayata and the other Brothers got into their combat stances, as did the Space Garrison forces. Gorzul seemed amused by this.

"_**Won't let me have my way? Ha ha ha ha ha ha! I have already gotten what I wanted, and it is all thanks to your son."**_

"What?" Hayata whirled to see Zenith and Lillith looking up at Gorzul, while Hayata stared at shock at what the thing was implying, as were the others.

"_**That's right, Hayata. Your own flesh and blood did this. Did I not say that you would regret doing this to me? Now, you have faced the ultimate betrayal, by your own son!**__" _Gorzul laughed long and loud after he said this, as if it were the greatest joke of all time. Ultraman Hayata could only stare at his son, while Zenith looked to his father.

"D-dad…" Zenith started.

"Oh, son…what have you done?" Hayata said, his statement barely above a whisper. The other Ultras stared at the boy, while he looked at all of them. The Ultra Brothers and Space Garrison forces lowered their arms as they looked at the boy who had unleashed possibly one of the greatest threats the universe has ever known. However, Zoffy did not let this deter him, as the field commander of the Ultra Brothers took charge of the situation.

"We will deal with this at the proper time! Right now, we have bigger problems! Brothers and Space Garrison members, prepare to repel!" Zoffy ordered. At once, the Ultras got back into their combat stances, and faced the swirling cloud of shadow above them. That is, all but one. Hayata could not tear his eyes away from his son. He couldn't predict that something like this could ever happen, not like this. "Member Shodai!" Zoffy shouted, saying Hayata's name that he was given on the Land of Light. Hayata turned, and got into his combat stance and faced off against Gorzul. The dark entity merely laughed.

"_**Come on. Come at me!**__"_ he taunted. The Ultras were more than willing to oblige. The Ultra Brothers and Space Garrison members rose up and fired their beams at the darkness, piercing it. It seemed to grunt in pain, but then lashed out with its own brand of attacks. A tendril of darkness came down and ensnared a group of Space Garrison members, and something horrible happened; as it held them, light seemed to drain from their bodies and into the tendril, leading to the main body. The bodies of the Ultras were then cast aside, where they shattered to dust upon impact with the ground. The Brothers saw this, and were taken aback. _"__**As you can see, I am rather drained from our last little encounter. Please, allow me a me a moment to…'refresh' myself.**__" _Gorzul said with an evil chuckle. Then, several more tendrils shot out, and ensnared more Warriors of Light, draining them of their life-force. The bodies were thrown, raining down to the ground and shattering like frail glass into nothingness when landing. Not even their warning lights remained. The Brothers avoided the assault, and struck back with attacks of their own, each firing their signature finishers at Gorzul. However, while powerful as the Brothers were, they only seemed to inflict only minor damage. But still, they fought on. Meanwhile, on the ground, Lillith, Zenith, and Krystal looked up at the battle before them. Ultras flew to and fro from snaking tendrils made of shadow, while blasting away at them and the main body, which seemed to be more than several hundred meters in diameter, if not more. The entity known as Gorzul appeared to be nothing more than a large cloud of pure evil. And even though this is a memory fragment from Zenith, Krystal could feel the evil radiating off of it, almost as if it were a tangible thing. She shuddered visibly, and turned to look at the children, who still looked up at the scene before them.

'Oh, Jim. No wonder you didn't want to tell me about this before. But, no matter what, my feelings for you won't change.' she thinks to herself. Then, Zenith gasps, and Krystal looks up to see why; Hayata was caught in one of Gorzul's tendrils, his energy being drained from him.

"No, father!" Zenith shouts, standing up. Then, he places his arms in a plus-shape, much like Krystal had seen him do before numerous times, and fires his own Spacium Kousen. Though not as strong as the one that Krystal knows, the blue/white beam cuts through the darkness, freeing his father, who falls to the ground. Zenith and Lillith run over to where he lays, Zenith kneeling over him. "Father…" Zenith says, sounding choked up.

"Zenith, my son. Do not worry. We will prevail over this disaster…" he says rather weakly.

"It's all my fault. If I hadn't listened to it…"

"It is…alright…my son. You had no idea what it was that Gorzul was capable of. You are as much a victim of it, as were the ones who fell by its touch. But, now, you must go. You must leave here!" Hayata said, getting back up on his feet, but falling to a knee. Zenith tried to hold him up, but nearly collapsed under his father.

"No, I won't leave you here. This is my fault, and I have to try to make things right!" Zenith says, adamant. Hayata looks up, and the situation turned from bad to hopeless, as the Space Garrison was down to merely a handful of warriors. However, they still fought on. Then, out of the cloud cover, something happened. A ray of light shined through the darkness cloud, making Gorzul grunt in apparent pain. Then, a shining sliver of light sped through the hole that was made, and sliced through the main body, making Gorzul cry out in pain.

"_**Who dares…**__"_ it demanded. It didn't have to wait long. Dropping from the cover and landing on the ground in a plume of dust was another Ultra. This one looked a lot like Zenith and Hayata/Shodai, but the red pattern was slightly different. Zenith was overjoyed when he saw him.

"SHEJA!" he yelled. His brace, the one that would become Krystal's staff in centuries to come, was nestled snugly on his right forearm. Krystal saw this, and took out her own staff, which was still in its inactive form. Then looked back up. Sheja looked back at Hayata and the others.

"Father of Ultra sent a message to me after I got back. He said a disturbance of some sort was happening here, and I see that, as always, he was never far off the mark." Hayata nodded at his comrade, who promptly returned the gesture. Then turned to face Gorzul. "This is as far as you go, monster!" Sheja shouted. Gorzul chuckled.

"_**Do you really believe that an insignificant speck like yourself is truly a match for me? I have devoured whole worlds before I came to this one. Whole systems, if not galaxies, have fallen to me. Those that I did not feast upon, I have made into my slaves, which is exactly what your race is about to become.**__"_

"Not if I can help it! I won't let you do as you please in my home!" With that, Sheja placed his left hand over his brace, and it glowed. When he pulled it away, the brace was gone, but a shining luminescence was present in his hand. Sheja through this at Gorzul, and it became the same glaive of light that had pierced it before. It struck it in its face, and it cried out in apparent anguish. Its eyes burned with hatred, and with a roar, it sent several tendrils his way. Sheja easily avoided them, leaping up into the air, and flying through the tangled mass of shadowy tendrils. It looked at the thing in the face as it stared down the lone Warrior of Light, anger and hatred burning in its eyes. Then, Sheja fired his own finisher attack in its face, the attack catching it off guard. The beam struck it between the eyes, and Gorzul winced slightly in pain, as if from a painful bee-sting. Then, as if with a mind of its own, his brace lifted itself from his forearm, and floated in front of the Ultra. Sheja ceased his attack, and looked at the floating object. It flashed once, and the Warrior of Light nodded once in understanding. The brace floated in front of him, and Sheja got back into his stance. After a couple of hand poses, he was back into his signature finisher stance, and fired his beam attack, the blue/white beam impacting his brace. Then, the brace glowed, becoming a cerulean color as it absorbed the energy, then fired a beam of its own. It was much like Sheja's, but with one significant difference; it was several times larger than the beam that Sheja had fired. With the brace acting as an amplifier, Sheja's beam had increased to several times in power. Now, the beam struck Gorzul in the face, and the beam of energy actually enveloped it, making the entity scream in utter agony. Then, it retreated back into space, away from the Ultras. Sheja dropped his pose, his brace returning to its place on his arm. He turned, and floated to the ground. The Warrior of Light went to Hayata's side, and helped him to his feet. "Are you alright, sir?" he asked. Hayata nodded.

"I'll be fine. It's a good thing you showed up, Sheja. It was starting to look grim for us for awhile." Sheja nodded.

"What was that thing, anyway?" he asked.

"A leftover from the past. One that we had hoped would never see the light of day again." Hayata said, looking up into the sky where Gorzul had left. Sheja followed his gaze, then looked down at Zenith. "And what are you doing here, anyway?" he asked, folding his arms across his chest. "You know that you are not supposed to be here." Zenith looked away. How could he tell him that he was responsible for releasing that horrible thing? "Well?" he asked.

"I can explain." Hayata said. Sheja turned to him. "Zenith was here when Gorzul was released."

"What do you mean?" he asked.

"I mean, that Zenith accidentally released Gorzul."

"What?" Sheja shouted. He turned to the boy.

"Don't blame my son. He didn't know what he was doing. He was manipulated by the entity to releasing it."

"It doesn't matter whether I blame him or not. It's what the Council and Father & Mother of Ultra going to do that we should be worried about." Sheja said. Zenith flinched at the words. He looked up, and saw that the Ultras were surrounding him; the Ultra Brothers, as well as what's left of the Space Garrison forces that were sent to deal with Gorzul. And, he could feel that they _were_ starting to see him as the cause of everything. Krystal watched all of this from the background, taking the scene as it came, and wondering what all of this has to do with her. Before she knew it, the scene changed, shifting to another time and place. She found herself, as well as a young Zenith, his father and Sheja, standing before several Ultras. Two of them wore the same mantle that Jim wore when he returned from M78. One was a male with great horns atop his head, while the other looked like a woman, with what appeared to be a type of hair-like headdress going down on both sides of her head. These were the Father & Mother of Ultra. The rest were sitting upon what looked like floating seats, slowly orbiting a bright sphere of light. Lillith was standing underneath one of them, and Krystal's breath caught in her throat as she recognized who that Ultra was; Zorabia looked down at Zenith, Krystal able to feel the contempt for the boy radiating off of her like a poisonous miasma. 'So, _that's_ who banished him. No wonder he detests her so.' Krystal thinks. There were other Ultras as well, like the Teacher of Light 80, twins Leo and Astra, even some that Krystal did not recognize. However, the Ultra Brothers were all assembled before the Council and Father & Mother of Ultra. It was Father of Ultra who spoke.

"My people, a grave travesty has befallen us. Gorzul who has been sealed long ago, has finally been unleashed upon the universe." The Ultras gathered murmured among themselves. "We know Gorzul seeks to devour all life to obtain immortality, and even kept other races alive as slaves and worse. We must act now."

"Yes, but what about the boy?" Zorabia of the Council of Ultra asked. All eyes were turned to her. "Did he not release said entity from its prison?"

"That is irrelevant at this point, Zorabia. It does not matter who it was that released the demon from its jail, only that we get it back into it, or better yet destroy it, before it can gather its strength once more."

"Does not matter? Then what about those who have suffered from it?"

"What do you mean?" Mother of Ultra asked.

"I mean about those who had lost their loved ones because the boy released the entity. Soldiers perished before it, cutting our ranks greatly, but they were not the only victims." she gestured to the crowd of Ultras, which must have numbered in the hundreds. "Come forth, you who have lost someone precious to you in the previous hours of Gorzul's revival." Almost half of the group took a step forward. Zenith looked at them, expecting them to lynch him at a moment's notice. Zorabia pointed to one of them, a humanoid girl of around twenty. "Who have you lost?" she asked. The girl, tearfully, answered.

"M-my brother. He was killed by Gorzul when he was released. He promised me that he would take me and my younger brother to the nebulae forests when he was done on shift. But, now…"

"And what about you?" she asked, pointing to a male blue Ultra.

"My son. He just graduated from the academy just last month. And now, his first mission was his last." he said, bitterness showing in his voice. Young Zenith looked down, feeling guilt well up.

"And you?" she asked, pointing to a humanoid woman who looked middle-aged, accompanied by a girl who looked to be Krystal's age.

"My future son-in-law. He was going to propose to my daughter. He told me not to tell my daughter yet, wanting to keep it a surprise." The girl quietly sobbed next to her mother, while the woman tried to comfort the young girl. Krystal then saw what it was that Zorabia was doing.

'She's manipulating the crowd! Why would she do something so awful? It's not like Jim wanted any of this to happen to anyone.' The people that did not come forward starting to murmur and whisper among themselves, and Krystal could guess what it is that they might be conversing about.

"Enough!" Father of Ultra shouted. The crowd was silenced by the command. "Yes, you have all lost someone precious to you. But you _must_ remember. They willingly became Warriors of Light to protect this planet, and countless others, from evil forces like Gorzul. They will be sorely missed, but they were doing their duty. Taking it out on a young child will not bring them back, much less help the current situation."

"But could this have been avoided, Father of Ultra?" Zorabia asked. All attention was once more on her. "Was it not you who made it forbidden to cross the contour that separates the city from the forbidden zone?"

"Yes. What's your point, Zorabia?"

"If one did it once, who's to say that it won't happen again? An example must be made. Satisfaction must be given." The crowd murmured in agreement. Father of Ultra looked to them.

"You cannot be serious!" Taro nearly shouted. The son of Father & Mother of Ultra stepped toward the Council. "Zorabia, honored councilmen, think about this. Zenith was a child who was _manipulated_ by Gorzul. He didn't know what was really happening. You cannot pass judgment on a boy like this!"

"The situation would not change if it were even _you_ who had released the demon, Taro. These people have needlessly suffered. There must be some form of satisfaction that will help comfort them."

"But there is! We will make sure that Gorzul never again does this to anyone else! Passing sentence on a child like this is…is…insane!"

"Never-the-less, no one is above the law, no matter who it is. Albeit civilian or soldier, wealthy or poor, lord or servant, _no one_ can defy the law of Ultra. You know this to be true, Father & Mother of Ultra. After all, you put some of them down into stone, so to speak, yourselves, did you not?"

"Yes. We did, Zorabia."

"And what does the law say for something like this?" Father & Mother of Ultra looked at eachother, then to the Council.

"Death." he said finally. There were gasps coming from people in the crowd, including from Krystal. "The penalty for releasing Gorzul, what had taken the lives of our brethren…is death."

"This is madness!" Hayata shouted, pushing his son behind him as if to protect him from Zorabia.

"This is our law." Zorabia said casually. If she could, she would probably be smirking right now. Krystal wanted nothing more than to take her staff, and blow the spiteful woman into oblivion. She visibly shook from the rage and anger that was beginning to well up from inside of her. Young Zenith felt fear well up inside of him as never before. The woman wanted to kill him, and some the crowd looked like it was going to help her do just that. Lillith looked up at shock at her mother, unable to believe what she was hearing.

'This is more than just a simple disdain for soldiers. Zorabia hates Jim with a passion. So much so as to go so far as to sentence him to death. But why?' the cerulean vixen had these thoughts running through her head, then Father & Mother of Ultra stepped forward.

"We will not put a child to death for something like this! This is completely out of the question!" Father of Ultra shouted. Zorabia smiled inwardly.

"What about the people who have lost those who were precious to them?" she asked. "Simply seeing the entity imprisoned will not suffice, since it would allow the opportunity to escape to arise again, and you very well cannot destroy it, either. If you could have, you would've done so by now. The people will need something else as well to sate them. They must have satisfaction, or else." The crowd murmured in agreement.

'If only King were here…' Father of Ultra thought wistfully. Then, like a beacon, a humming sound was heard, followed by a pulse of light emanating from the tallest structure in the city. 'the Plasma Spark…' Father of Ultra thought. Both he and Mother of Ultra, followed by the Ultra Brothers and Zenith flew to the tower that had held the Plasma Spark. Then, the image shifted, and Krystal found herself standing on a bridge of some type over a seemingly bottomless pit. However, that was not what had her attention at the moment. Rather, it was what was at the end of the bridge that she stared at with awe; sitting atop a pillar of white crystal sat a miniature white sun, glowing with a radiance of pure white light. Krystal felt a great sense of calm upon seeing the orb. Then, the Ultras arrived, starting with the Father & Mother of Ultra, and ending with Hayata and Zenith. Father of Ultra walked over to the orb, and stood before it. Krystal suspected it to be the Plasma Spark, and was proven correct when it flashed once, and a white aura wafted down to them. It entered the Ultras, but simply wafted around the vixen. Oddly enough, she could feel it. It was warm to the touch, and she had the distinct impression that it was alive. It continued to waft around like a mist for a bit, before retreating to the Plasma Spark. Then, something floated down in front of them. It was shaped like the Plasma Spark, but smaller is size. Stopping just in front of the Father of Ultra, the others gathered around it, as did Krystal, her body passing through them as if they were nothing more than mist. She saw what it was that the Plasma Spark wanted to show them; Gorzul. It was heading towards a system with twelve planets, and two suns.

"Lylat!" Krystal shouted out loud, then covered her mouth as if embarrassed. Then she remembered that this is all just a memory from Zenith. She looked down at the Ultra boy, whose eyes were transfixed to the sphere.

"It's headed for that system." Zoffy said.

"Which system is that?" Seven asked.

"Mine." a voice said. All turned to face Sheja, who stepped forward. "It must have found the gateway to the other universes. It's found a nearly limitless supply of energy." He turned to Zoffy. "Sir, I must head to my post, and try to divert it back to here."

"It's too dangerous for you alone, Sheja. There's another way."

"There isn't any time. If he gets close enough, the natives of that system are going to perish in the blink of an eye. I have to stop it, sir." Zoffy seemed to consider, then nodded to the Warrior of Light.

"Alright. But remember; you are to try to divert its attention away from the people in that system, not to take that thing on head-on. Lead it back to M78, and we will dispose of it. Understood?"

"Yessir!" Sheja said. Then, he flew out of the chamber of the Plasma Spark, and headed for the Lylat System. However, while everyone's attention was diverted to the Plasma Spark, none seemed to notice a certain Ultra boy sneak out from behind them, and follow Sheja. That is, all but a certain cerulean-furred vixen. The image then shifted to that of space. She was standing, once more, in the vast reaches of space, where the planets could be seen clearly, as well as something else; The dark mass that is Gorzul moved towards one of the planets, one that Krystal recognized instantly, and watched as it closed in on Sauria. Then, the mass expanded, and engulfed the planet. Fear taking hold, Krystal watched as the entity fed on the planet, taking all of the lives that it had. Then, a glowing dart of light collided with the mass, making it halt its feasting. Releasing the planet, leaving it nearly broken into nothingness, Gorzul turned its attention on the newly arrived Sheja.

"_**Have you learned nothing, boy? You cannot hope to defeat me. Even with that little bracelet of yours, I will still swallow your soul."**_

"You can try, Gorzul. However, you haven't faced anyone quite like me before!" Sheja shouted, and threw his brace at Gorzul. It turned into the cutting weapon like before, and this time went through Gorzul's body, making it yell in pain. The glaive returned to its master, and Sheja faced off against Gorzul once more.

"_**You will pay for that…**__"_

"No, Gorzul. You will pay. You will pay for all that you have done!" Sheja fired his signature finisher, the blue/white beam colliding with the demon. The attack threw sparks, but didn't seem to do any lasting damage.

"_**Ha! You see? You may be able to hurt me, I'll give you that much, but you cannot kill me. None can kill me!**__"_ Just then, tendrils shot out of the main body once more, and wrapped themselves around Sheja. _"__**Time to die…**__"_ Gorzul was reeling in its catch, when another beam struck it from behind. It was smaller than Sheja's attack, but it did make the demon take notice. It whirled, and what it saw made it laugh, while Sheja gasped in shock; young Zenith was in his Spacium Kousen pose, ready to fire off another shot at the thing that held his friend.

"Let him go, Gorzul! I'm the one whose gonna take you down!" he shouted. Gorzul laughed in amusement.

"_**How adorable! The same child that released me, wants to send me back to the hell from whence I came. Ha ha ha ha ha ha!**__" _Zenith flinched slightly, but didn't drop his pose. _"__**Very well. I will give you a chance to 'redeem' yourself in front of your people. Who knows? You just might get lucky.**__"_ Still holding onto Sheja, Gorzul sent more tendrils at the young Ultra. Zenith evaded them, and sent another beam at his opponent. His Spacium Kousen lacked the firepower that Sheja's has, but it did at least do something, in that it did cause miniature explosions when it did impact against its main body. But Gorzul merely laughed in amusement. _"__**It is utterly useless, child. You cannot even begin to harm me.**__" _Zenith ignored the jibe, and kept flying through the mass of tendrils that threatened to ensnare him. He kept on firing his Spacium Kousen, but the repeated usage was starting to take its toll on him. He was beginning to slow down, and was panting hard. Finally, he stopped to catch his breath, and that's when Gorzul decided to taunt him some more. _"__**You have the determination, boy, but not the skill or endurance of a warrior. I commend you on putting up a fight, for someone as young as yourself, but now the game must end.**__"_ A tendril snuck up from behind Zenith, and grabbed him. Giving a yell in surprise, the young Ultra tried to free himself, but it was useless. He was being slowly dragged to Gorzul's waiting maw, when something happened. Getting his arm free, Sheja was able to launch his brace, which became the glaive-like weapon, and tore the tendril in half. Free, Zenith flew away some distance, while Gorzul focused its attention on the Warrior of Light. _"__**You are starting to be a meddlesome thorn in my side, Warrior of Light. I will end you first.**__" _

"No, Gorzul, this is where _you_ end!" Sheja shouted. Then, his brace glowed, and so did he. Zenith was flying towards them, when he was engulfed in a transparent scarlet sphere. He pounded his small fists against the barrier, but it would not yield. "Zenith, this is not your fight. I will seal the Gate Way for a time, enough for you to mature and grow into a warrior. When the time comes, you must bring down this monstrosity before he can devour anyone else."

"Sheja, I can't just leave you here!" Zenith shouted at him.

"You have no choice!" Sheja shouted back. His tone softened. "The time will come for you to fulfill your destiny, Zenith-kun. But for now, you must live. Farewell, my brother." With that, the sphere shot out into space, but Zenith could see a slight flash when he couldn't see the pair anymore, and knew that Sheja just gave his life to save his own, and to cripple Gorzul. The young Ultra broke down and sobbed openly, knowing that he can never go home, for he may be executed for releasing a horror into the eternity of eternities. Krystal saw this, and felt for him. She wished that she could touch him, hold him. She wished that she could tell him that everything will be alright in the end, but couldn't. She couldn't, since it was only a memory. The vixen felt a tear go down her muzzle, and wiped it away.

The scene shifted, and it was when Zenith neared a certain blue/green planet in system with nine planets, and a single sun. The boy had grown, nearing adult hood. Free of the sphere, he descended to the planet. He landed, and using his light-bending ability, flew off to one of the cities. There, he floated around, seeing all the people moving about to their daily routines. Then, he felt something, and headed for a hospital. There, he passed through the walls, and made his way to the maternity ward. There were swathed infants in bassinets, with parents looking at them through a sheet of glass, each of them having a joyous smile on their faces. That is, all except two. As they looked through, they saw that their sickly infant son was visibly having difficulty breathing. Sheja saw this child, standing behind the two parents without them noticing him. A nurse came out with a clipboard, to tell them that the baby might not survive the night. The mother sobbed into her husband's shoulder while he tried to comfort her. Zenith saw this, and felt he had to do something. Passing through the glass, he walked to the infant, standing over him. He looked down, and felt the life slowly fade from his tiny body. Zenith waited until the doors were locked for the night, and the room darkened. Then, he made his move. Dispersing his camouflage, he stood over the bassinet that held the baby. He was nearly gone, but Zenith decided to do what he felt was right. A red light appeared over the infant, and became the same type of sphere that Sheja had used to send him away from Gorzul, all those centuries ago. In that time, he had grown to nearly adult hood, and with this child's help, he might be able to do that. Lifting the sphere with telekinesis, Gorzul saw the infant moving slightly from within. Then, his own body becoming a bright scarlet, he became a mass of light and energy, and entered the sphere as well. Using his own power, he healed the infant, but became dormant inside of him. The sphere faded, and the baby was gently lowered back into the bassinet. The next couple of day were a blur, but the third day saw a very happy mother and father carrying their newborn son home. Krystal saw all of this, and knew that she was watching how Jim had become an Ultra hybrid right then and there. She smiled at the sight as the mother and father entered their car, and drove home. 'So, this is how Jim was born.'

To be Continued…


	38. The Beginning, pt2

Chapter 38

The Beginning Pt.2

It could feel it. A disturbance that could barely be felt, but still noticeable. Gorzul seemed to shift in its throne, as if tense about something. The hood slightly jostled as it felt the sensation of someone in the Cross Roads. Someone, whom he thought that he had dealt with. It smiled inwardly. "So, my old friend, you decided to reveal yourself." A blue swirl appeared before it, and the form of Xetulu appeared, the senior Cerinian vulpine looking at the entity, a blue aura emanating from him.

"Gorzul, the time is coming for the reckoning I promised so long ago." Gorzul let out a laugh, and replied.

"You may believe that you have the upper hand, because the little girl that you sheltered may be coming closer to the truth, but mark me; neither she, nor the boy will be able to stand against me. I have grown stronger than ever before, and not even Fox McCloud can stop me." Xetulu smirked when he heard this, and Gorzul seemed to be taken aback by what it had just said.

"So, I see that you are still suffering from the side-effects of the last-ditch effort to save yourself from destruction. When you make your other self known to your enemies, they will destroy you all the quicker." Xetulu's form disappeared into a wisp of blue vapor. Gorzul growled in anger when he left, and clenched its fists. It will _not_ let a simple mistake like this continue to hinder its plans. It will take over the Lylat System, then the universe, along with countless others.

Another shift in the memories saw Krystal fast-forward a few years. Jim, now a toddler was sitting next to his parents, while another boy, a couple years older than him at the very least, ran with a group of friends in front of the parents. They were at a park, presumably in Japan, since Jim told her that he spent the first years that he can remember there. Krystal saw this, standing beside a tree as the scene unfolded. She felt herself smile a bit as she saw this. Then, she noticed something else; an older man was standing just a few yards away from her and the group. He was dressed in a jacket, pants, shirt, and loafers. He had his hands in his pockets, and a smile seemed to creep into his features. He was definitely Japanese, judging by his facial features, but she knew nothing else about him aside from that. However, young Jim seemed to tack a particular interest in him. The image went into fast-forward again, and the boy matured another year. This time, it was his third birthday, and he was holding up the same doll that Krystal remembers oh so well. The red and silver, six inch tall plastic doll of the famous super-hero Ultraman was happily being wielded by an ecstatic three year-old Jim. His laughing expression brought a smile to her own face. After all this time, he still kept it on him, not letting it go for any reason. Krystal smiled at the thought of the memento, and saw the scene fast forward again, this time even further. Jim was now either seven or eight years of age, and was in a white gi and belt, while an older man, middle-aged, was also wearing a gi, but with a black-belt. It was the same man who she saw when Jim was an infant while they were in the park. But, he hadn't aged a day. They were going over some practice drills, Jim striking the older male, or at least trying to, but the older man was able to effortlessly block his attempts. At this point, they had moved to Alaska, just as Jim had said. The building that they were in looked like to be some sort of dojo. Then, both combatants back off from eachother, and took a step back. They bowed to eachother, then stepped forward. The man wore a grin, while Jim smiled openly. "Good job, Jim-kun. You have indeed improved since last time. It's too bad that your brother could not attend like I had advised. But, at least you were able to come."

"Thank you, sensei. I am trying harder, but the other kids are older and bigger than me. It's hard for me to fight them."

"Do not lose heart, Jim-kun. You are progressing more than you think. Soon, you will be able to bring home that trophy." the older man placed his hands on the boy's shoulders, and smiled assuringly. Jim nodded, and the man returned it. The memory shifted, one to a scene that the vixen hardly expected. It was a jungle-like environment, one that seemed hauntingly familiar to the vixen. Then, she saw him. Jim was sitting alone on a log, holding the same six-inch doll that he had carried with him the past five years of his life. Then, he turned, and the vixen followed his gaze. What she saw, made her gasp out loud; standing not ten feet from them, was a blue-furred fox kit, roughly around the same age as Jim is now. She was speechless, wondering just how Jim could have memories like this. Then, the first thought that came to her mind was 'Why?' The fox kit, clearly female by the attire that she wore, made her way to the surprised human. 'Why? Why didn't he tell me?' The human, surprised, fell back as the vixen kit strode up to him. She stood over him, the frightened human boy seemingly at the mercy of the vixen. 'How could he have these memories?' The vixen leaned forward, and seemed to smell the human boy. Then, she stood up suddenly, her face lit up with delight as she embraced the young human in a crushing hug. 'Why can't I remember? Why don't I remember this?' The scene fast forwarded to scenes where the vixen brought h\her new friend to her village, met her father and Jim's sensei. She brought him to her home, introduced him to her mother and sister, and they bonded after that. "Jim, why didn't you tell me…" Krystal asked to no one as she saw herself asleep in a hammock with Jim asleep in a sleeping bag next to her. The scene shifted to the blue void that she had come to know.

"He couldn't tell you." the voice of the Krazoa sounded from behind the vixen. She turned, and saw the robed figure standing behind her, its emotionless face looking at her with glowing blue eyes. "How could he? He did not understand them himself, until recently. And even then, his own memory is incomplete."

"Was he there when Cerinia died?" she asked. The Krazoa hesitated before answering.

"Yes. But he does not remember that as of yet. However, you can."

"What do you mean? I can't even remember even _meeting_ him on Cerinia. How can he have been there? His own power didn't form until after I met him on Earth."

"Your own memory was altered, along with his, to protect you from Gorzul's reach. You would be sent to Sauria, while he went back to Earth, your abilities suppressed until the time was right for you to fulfill your destiny. And now, the coming battle with Gorzul is nearly at hand. You must find the remaining memory, and become who you were meant to be."

"But, where can I find it? The memories were stored in the belongings of an Ultra named Sheja. Jim got them, and inherited his memories of his Ultra self."

"The answer, lies with one of the people that you trust the most."

"Trust the most?"

"One of the first people that you met after coming to the Lylat System. He was also the one who gave Jim his Brace."

Cornerian Army Command Central: General Pepper sat in his chair, looking out of the view that led to a sunset-stricken Corneria City. The sky was a mix of red and orange as Lylat and Solar both set behind the purple-hued mountains. However, the general's thoughts were not on the fantastic display, as evident on the faraway look on his wizened face. The bloodhound was focusing on other matters, more pressing was the current threat of Gorzul. He sighed heavily, thinking. 'How much longer, I wonder, until the wolf growling at my door finally comes crashing in?' He looked like one who has been carrying a heavy burden for a very long time. Behind him, in his desk, a light chiming sound was heard. General Pepper barely heard it, but it was enough for him to turn around. He saw a faint glow of light pulsing from the same drawer that held Jims Spacium Brace. He opened it, and took out the same case that held it. He opened it, and took out a small item. It was diamond shaped in appearance, and glowed faintly with a yellow light. He held it close to himself. 'Why did I not give this to them when I had the chance?' he wonders to himself. He looked at the diamond, and an image filled it, a face that he had hoped that he would never again see. "Damn you, Andross. Why do you still continue to torment me in this way?"

Sauria: Krystal stepped down from the open hand of the Warp Stone, and saw her former mentor standing just a few paces ahead of her. She wore a look of determination. As she strode forward. Xetulu looked like he might try to stop her, but made no indication of doing so as she walked by. He decided to speak when she was a few steps behind him. "Have you found what it is that you are looking for?" she stopped, then answered.

"Not yet, but I'm getting close. I have to head back to Corneria to find something."

"And then…him." Krystal turned when he said this, and her former teacher turned to face her, a tired smile on his face. "I knew who it was that was on your mind, even as you stepped foot on this world. After all, his likeness does reside on the Earth Walker's temple."

"I want to know, why he was keeping this a secret from me. He knows that he can tell me anything."

"How can he tell you, what he does not understand? He was afraid you might find him mad."

"Stranger things have happened recently." she replied. Xetulu nodded slightly in agreement.

"Yes. They certainly have, haven't they? Either way, this isn't really _his_ memory that you are looking for."

"Then whose is it?" Krystal asked.

"Yours." Xetulu replied. Krystal stood there for a moment, then turned and continued down to her arwing. When she was out of sight, Xetulu's expression softened a bit. 'Take care, daughter…'

Unknown part of Space: Claire was nearing the Lylat System. In her ship, she can still recall the orders given to her by Gorzul. 'You are to go to Corneria, and eliminate the only one who has the girl's memory. He is the head of the Cornerian Military, and one of the system's leaders. Remember, above all else, you must get to him before either the girl, or the Ultra do. If any of them do, then my plan will develop…complications that I care not to indulge myself in.' With that in mind, Claire sped off to Corneria, and to General Pepper.

Corneria: Krystal touched down on the landing pad near the CACC. It was already early evening, with the final rays of the sun all but replaced by night, a slight area of red and purple in a sky of night and stars. She bypassed the Great Fox, hoping to avoid her sensors, and was now heading to General Pepper's office. The cerulean vixen checked in at the front desk, and steadily made her way to the general's office, her thoughts swirling about her head. 'Why does the general have my memory? How did he get a hold of it? This is all so overwhelming. I don't even remember much of my time on Cerinia. It was destroyed when I was just a young kit, and it all seems like a blur to me. I remember my parents, and a sister, but everything else is just…gibberish to me.' Before she knew it, she was standing in front of the general's door. She knocked, and was bidden to enter. The general was sitting behind his desk, facing the view overlooking the night-draped city, the many lights of Corneria City giving it a feel like it was alight with many, minuscule flames. Krystal made her way to the desk, the general not moving to face her.

"I have been waiting for this moment." The bloodhound turned the chair around to face the vixen. The general looked even more aged than he usually does. He had an exhausted expression about him, and had bags under his eyes, and his jowls seemed more slack than usual. "It has been a while since last you came here, Krystal. I still remember the day you came here the first time." the vixen smiled in nostalgia, and Pepper chuckled in response. "However, even then, I could not have given you what you have came for now. It was not yet your time, not until Jim had stepped into your life and made you realize your true destiny. I only wished that, it did not have to be in such a fashion."

"Please, general, can we get to business? We don't have much time left."

"I know, Krystal. Even now, Gorzul is planning to kill me, if he has not sent his first attempt yet."

"But, why you?"

"Because, I am the only one left alive in the Lylat System who knows who Gorzul really is. If anyone else were to know, there's not telling what he will do. If anyone else were to receive this, there would be no telling what kind of mayhem would ensue from it."

"But, just who or what _is_ Gorzul?" Krystal asked.

"Someone that you know. Or rather, someone that you have heard about." Pepper pulled open the drawer, and pulled out the same case that held Jim's Spacium Brace. He opened it, and pulled out a gem that could fit in the palm of a hand. He handed it out to Krystal, who received it, uncertain. "Do you recognize it?" he asked. The puzzled look told Pepper that she did not. "I was told it was the one of the last things that you had, before leaving the planet Cerinia. As a child, you held it dear, almost as dear as you held your friend, Jim, in your childhood."

"Who? Who told you?"

"Your father did."

"My…father?"

"Look into it, and you will know the answer." Krystal took the crystal in hand, and looked into it. It glowed with a radiance all of its own, and became a blinding flash. Krystal had to shield her eyes for a moment, and when she lowered them again, she saw herself in another time, and another place.

Great Fox: Jim felt it, a malevolent presence was heading for the planet of Corneria. He couldn't see it, but he could sense it, almost as if it were tangible. And, it was a presence that he knows. Jim exited from his room, and headed for the hangar in a trot.

It was night, and her younger self was asleep in the hammock, with the young human in the sleeping mat beside her. Krystal crept to the sleeping kit, and looked down at her. She tried to place a hand on her sleeping self, but found that her hand had passed through her body. She pulled it away quickly, and looked to the sleeping form of the young human. She knelt next to him, and looked down. Jim's younger self looked almost exactly like him, save for a few obvious differences. She smiled at the sight. Then, his eyes shot open. Krystal was taken aback, and feared that he saw her. However, when he shot up, and literally ran through her body to the window, she remembered that this was merely a memory. The young human looked up at the sky, as if searching for something. Krystal walked next to him, seeing him poke his head out of the window, and did the same. She saw nothing, but saw by the way that the human was craning his neck upward, that she was looking in the wrong place; She looked up, but still saw nothing, just the star-specked night sky. However, she knew better than to trust her eye-sight, especially when Jim was around. The boy turned to face the sleeping vixen, his voice a harsh whisper.

"Dia, wake up!" The vixen didn't stir. The human went over, and shook her. Groggily, the kit roused.

"What is it?" she asked, half-asleep.

"There's something outside. Come on." She rubbed her eyes as the human went back to the window. The sleepy kit did the same, but didn't see anything. She followed his gaze but still saw nothing.

"Aaron, it was only a dream." the kit said.

'Aaron?' Krystal thought.

"No. There is definitely something out there. I can feel it." The kit looked up again, but still saw nothing. Sighing in exasperation, she tugged at the human.

"Come on, let's get back to bed. I'm tired, and there's something I wanna show you tomorrow." The young kit went to her hammock, and climbed in. The human remained rooted at the spot. However, as he continued to look up, his expression turned from a scowl to shock. Then, he went over to the young kit, and shook her again.

"Dia, look outside! You can see it now!" Irritated, the young kit got out of her hammock, and strode to the window.

"If this is a trick Aaron, I'm telling my father." However, her irritation disappeared when she looked up, and her visage was replaced with the same shock that the young human had. Krystal went to the window as well, and looked up. What she saw, made her heart skip a beat; several large lights were hovering in the sky. She couldn't tell what kind of ships they were, but had the distinct feeling of dread when she saw them. "What are they?" Dia asked, sounding a little afraid.

"I don't…" Before the human could finish, a great shuddering hit the house, almost like an earthquake. The room trembled, and the two fell to their knees. Dia let out a frightened yelp, and Aaron held onto her. Things on shelves clattered to the floor, and there was a great sound outside, like an explosion. Krystal looked out, and saw a red glare over the horizon. Then, the door swung open, and two larger figures entered the room, the light from the crystals hanging from the ceiling flashing to life. Krystal saw the two vulpines, and knew that they were her parents.

"Are you children alright?" her mother asked, a mix of anxiety and concern plainly evident in her voice. Dia ran to her mother's arms, the vixen holding her close to her body. Aaron was standing up, Dia's father helping him up.

"We're fine. But what was that?" Aaron asked.

"We don't know. Stay here while we go have a look." Dia's sister came in. "Rena, stay here, and look after these two. Make sure that they do not leave this room." The older kit nodded dutifully as the two parents left the room. Both kit and human looked out of the window as the pair left the house, and towards the village ahead of them. However, it wasn't the pair that they was looking at, it was the red glow in the village. In seconds, a new sound was heard, one that sent chills down the children's spine, and sounded hauntingly familiar to the vixen. As she looked out of the window, the vixen saw a sight that she wished never to see again; Doragon was standing in the village square. It turned its insect-like head this way and that, looking at the dwellings before it. The red glare didn't subside, and Doragon seemed to be bathed in it. With another hideous shriek, the mantid Kaiju swung one of its scythes down on one of the houses, shattering it to rubble. Dia and Aaron looked on in shock at the spectacle. To the human, it was like watching one of the monster movies that he was so fond of coming horribly to life, while for the kit, it was like waking up to a nightmare. Then, Dia bolted from the window and headed for the door, only to be intercepted by Rena.

"Let me go, I have to help mother and father!" she shouted. Rena held her fast, but didn't notice the human sneaking out as well, until it was too late. When she saw Aaron run out, she called his name too late for it to make much of a difference. Aaron raced down the steps, and ran out of the door. He didn't know how, but he knew that he had to find some way to stop that thing. Krystal looked out of the window, and saw herself get free from Rena's grasp, and follow Aaron. Rena was quickly gaining on her, but not before they reached the village, with Krystal close behind. It was chaos. Everything was a shambles as Doragon tore through the defenseless village. Aaron stopped when he entered the village, seeing the death and destruction around him as the dead littered the streets, bloodied with some of them staring sightlessly ahead of them. He felt a rage and sadness well up. Dia and Rena were close behind, and when the two kits saw this, they felt the strength leave their bodies. Rena fell to her knees, while Dia had a look of shock about her, her mind unable to comprehend what all is going on. Aaron's hands were clenched into fists, his knuckles going white, and tears of anger were burning his eyes. He felt so helpless in this situation, and that's when he bolted into the ruined village. "Aaron, wait!" Dia called out, snapping out of her trance when she saw human run. Aaron bolted this way and that, trying to find Dia's parents. What he saw was just more dead and dying people. He saw all of this, and felt it tug at his heart, Doragon's screech echoing in the night air. Then, he saw a recognizable shape. After speeding towards it, he saw that it was Dia's mother, lying face-down on the ground. After turning her over, Aaron saw the wound on her abdomen, and feared the worst. He shook her, hoping to get some sort of response from her. Her eyes fluttered open, revealing the dying emeralds within. Dia ran to her side, tears evident when she saw the state her mother was in. "Mama!" she shouted. She embraced her with all her might, trying to hold onto what was left.

"Dia…you must…leave this place…" Her voice was barely above that of a whisper, and was fading. "You must…fulfill your destiny…the prophecy…that your…father foretold." She turned to Aaron, a weakening smile on her muzzle. "Take care…of her…Aaron…" And with that, she passed on. Dia never tore herself away from her mother's body. Tears of his own in his eyes, Aaron gently removed his hands away from the body, with a still-sobbing Dia lying on top of her. Then, Aaron looked up, and saw the shadowed body of the monster that was responsible for this. Doragon let out an unholy shriek into the sky, as if to tell the heavens of what it had accomplished this night. He felt a burning rage tear at his heart, and stood up, his fists trembling.

"Dia! Aaron!" Dia's father ran towards them, and stopped when he saw his wife's body with a Dia sobbing on her. He knelt down, tears beginning to fall from his eyes. He placed his hands on his loved one's corpse, and hung his head in sadness. Aaron saw this, and could take it no more. He bolted at the Doragon, intent on stopping it. Randorn looked up just in time to see him run towards the thing. "Aaron, stop!" he shouted, but it was too late. Dia looked up, and felt the same fear as her father did for the human. Doragon looked down, seeing movement flash past in its peripheral vision. It saw the tasty little morsel heading towards it, and let out an amused chuckle. It knelt, and raised its scythe, intent on skewering the little thing, like it had done to so many of the other little things roaming around here. The scythe almost came crashing down on the boy, but got tackled out of the way, and the scythe came crashing down on an empty road. Aaron looked up, and saw Randorn looking up at Doragon. Then, he turned his gaze down at the boy. "What were you thinking! You could have gotten yourself killed!" he shouted. Aaron remained resolute.

"I can do something! I'm an Ultra, and…"

"No, you are not!" Randorn shouted back. "You are not an Ultra, and you never will be if you keep this up. We have to get out of here, right now!" With Aaron in tow, Randorn made his way to Rena and Dia, who was still by Neera's corpse. Dia looked up, tears staining her eyes still. "Dia, Rena, we must go now. The village is a shambles, and we must get out of here before that monster sees us." Both kits looked up, and nodded. As the four of them were reaching for the exit, Doragon took notice of them after it was done tearing about the remains of the village. After issuing a blood-curdling scream, it raised its scythe, intent on impaling them. Randorn saw this, and shoved Aaron away from him. The scythe came in between him, and the vulpine family. Aaron saw the scythe rise, and Doragon took a step forward, its leg nearly stepping on the human who rolled out of the way just in the nick of time. However, as he got up, he saw Doragon crouch down, and raise both of its scythes, saliva dripping from its maw as it neared them. Randorn tried to shield his daughters from the thing, but knew that it was hopeless. Acting on instinct, Aaron rushed at the monster, yelling at the top of his lungs. It got the creatures attention, but smiled evilly, as if in amusement. As Aaron got close enough, Doragon lightly swatted the boy away with the flat of its scythe. The action sent Aaron flying back, and he crashed to the ground, his body limp.

"AARON!" Dia shouted. She moved to go to him, but was restrained by her father. Doragon looked down at the boy, his compound eyes glowing maliciously. Then, he turned his attention back to the matter at hand; the vulpine family. As Doragon neared the trio, Dia did the only thing she could thing of. "HELP, ANYONE!" As if answering her call, there was a great flash of red from behind Doragon. The family looked behind the monster, and Doragon turned to see what the light was about. The glow was coming from Aaron. His eyes were glowing a bright red, as was his whole body, as he stood up, his fists clenched, and his teeth gritted. Then, he opened his mouth, and let out a fierce yell, one that made even Doragon take an involuntary step back. Aaron's body became luminescent, and amazingly, began to swell. In mere moments, it matched Doragon in height, while the Kaiju stood dumbfounded at the sudden turn of events. The giant of light threw a punch at the monster, and it was sent flying away, right over Randorn and the others, and into the woods beyond. Randorn shielded his daughters when Doragon was sent flying, but when they looked up, what they saw made their jaws drop; standing at the same height as Doragon, was a red and silver giant, with a glowing blue light on his chest, and cerulean-blue eyes. It sported red 'briefs', as well as red streaking across its silver body as it looked at the spot where Doragon had landed. Then, it looked down, and saw the family on the ground, apparently cringing from the giant. It slowly made its way to them, and knelt down to one knee. It lowered its hand, palm open, and set it next to the trio of vulpines. The family looked up, and the giant nodded at them. Dia smiled broadly, feeling Aaron's presence emanating from it. She took a step forward, and stepped onto the hand, followed by the rest of her family. The giant stood up, and walked away from village, away from where Doragon landed. After setting down the vulpines on the edge of the city, the giant looked up to see Doragon standing back up, yelling its displeasure at it. The giant took a combat stance, ready for the monster. Doragon made the first move, charging at the red and silver giant in a mad rage. The giant jumped over Doragon, and the monster went crashing to the ground. It got back up, and faced the red and silver giant once more. The Giant ran forward, and executed a jump-kick to its face, making it fall back. It quickly rose, and swung with its scythes, hoping to land a blow. However, the giant expertly evaded and parried the clumsy blows. Doragon went for an overhead attack, but the giant easily blocked it. It swung out with the other scythe, but the giant grabbed it, and shoved it back. Then, the giant threw a punch at its face. The attack landed successfully, and forced Doragon to take a step back. The giant then let loose an over-head chop, and a side chop, both attacks making it retreat a step. Finally, a spin-kick made it fall to the ground. When it stood back up, the giant placed its arms in a plus-shaped, and a crossed-shaped beam fired from his forearms, and impacted against Doragon. Sparks and energy danced about the impacted area, while Doragon let out a piercing wail of agony. Then, the beam died, and Doragon still stood. The giant held its pose for a moment longer, then dropped its arms, its hands clenched into fists. Then, after issuing a final screech, Doragon fell, and it exploded into millions of flaming fragments. The giant looked away, to the family of vulpines standing at the edge of the ruined village. As it walked, its footsteps echoed across the night sky, and tremors were felt from them. As it knelt down, Dia kept her broad smile glued to her muzzle. Then, a bright red glow came from the giant, and it shrunk in size. The giant shrunk to a ball of light, no bigger than a child. The light dissipated, and Aaron was standing before them. He took a step forward, and collapsed, but not before Dia embraced him as he fell. Both children fell to the ground, with Dia holding the human as close to her as possible. Randorn and Rena took tentative steps towards the pair, and knelt next to Dia and Aaron.

"He did it. He actually did it." Rena said, disbelieving what she had seen just moments ago. Randorn shared a similar expression as his daughter. Then, a bright light descended from the sky, and landed in front of them. Then, the light materialized into Yamato Takeshi, the Teacher of Light. The Ultra looked around him, then at the unconscious form of Aaron, who was still being held by Dia.

"What has happened here?" he asked. Randorn told him all that had happened within the past hour, and his face went grim as a result. "That means he's found you already…" he says almost to himself. Then he looked to Randorn, his voice stern. "the time that we had all been dreading has finally been thrust upon us. Randorn, you know what to do."

"Of course." Was all he said. Then, he pulled Rena away from the pair as Takeshi moved towards Aaron and Dia. The blue-furred kit looked up, tears staining her cerulean fur.

"Father, what's happening?" Rena asked.

"your sister and Aaron will be going away for awhile…" was all he said. Rena looked up at him, puzzled by what her father had said. Dia looked up at the Ultra in human guise. He knelt next to them, and pulled out his Bright Stick. The transformation item flashed once, and the next instant, Aaron's eyes shot open. He rose up with a start, that Dia fell off of him. She got back up, and saw Aaron standing in front of his mentor. Aaron looked up and around him.

"What happened? Where'd that monster go?" he asked, looking this way and that.

"It's gone, Aaron-kun. You defeated it." Takeshi said, smiling broadly. Aaron looked up at Takeshi, puzzled.

"I…did?" he asked. The Ultra nodded.

"You were able to transform on your own. Normally, it would have taken a few years for you to practice, but you wanted to protect your friends that badly…"

"When I heard Dia, I just…did what felt natural…"Aaron tried to explain. Takeshi chuckled, and patted Aaron on the head.

"Of course you did." He looked to Dia, and motioned for her to come over. She did so without hesitation. When she saw Aaron looking at her, she hugged him as tight as her small body would allow. Aaron returned the gesture in kind. "Aaron-kun, Dia-chan, the time for you to embark on your journey is about to begin. You two have been chosen for something great in your lives, that will change, not only the face of this galaxy, but the fate of the universe as you know it." Dia and Aaron looked at eachother, confused by what Takeshi is saying.

"Where are we going, Sensei?" Aaron asked.

"Far away, to another planet. Or rather, to two different planets."

"What planets?" Dia asked.

"You, Dia-chan, will go to the planet known as Sauria for your part. Aaron will return to Earth for his."

"You mean, this will be the last time that we will see eachother?" Aaron asked. Dia turned a worried glance to Aaron.

"No. For awhile, you must remain separate from eachother, for it will be dangerous for you to be with eachother. But, in time, you two will be together again. I promise." Dia looked to Aaron, then to Takeshi.

"What about my father, and Rena. What will they do?"

"We will remain here, and rebuild what has been lost. We will wait for your return to us, Dia." Randorn said, with Rena nodding in agreement. Dia returned it, but was still unsure. Then, a red light enveloped both of them, and were lifted into the air. Takeshi changed to his Ultra form, and Ultraman 80 rose up with the Travel Sphere. All the while, Krystal was standing back, taking in everything. Then, the scene shifted to that from a tropical environment, to that of shimmering red and gold. The two children looked around in bewilderment, and then saw Ultraman 80 kneeling over them.

"The first planet we will stop at will be Sauria, since it is closer to us at the moment." the red and silver giant said in an echoing voice. In moments, a part of the red and silver void opened, and revealed a blue and green planet. It looked like Earth and Cerinia, but the landmasses were different. "This will be the final time you two will see eachother for a long while. You may take this time to say farewell to eachother." 80 said. Dia looked to Aaron, and the human did likewise. The kit embraced him, like she had done so multiple times before. Only this time, when Dia pulled away slightly, Aaron saw tears forming in her emerald eyes.

"I guess…this is it." Aaron said.

"I suppose it is." the kit replied. After Aaron returned the embrace, he pulled away, and pulled something out of his pocket. It was the same Ultraman doll that he had kept since his childhood. He handed it to Dia.

"something to remember me by." he said. The kit accepted, albeit tearfully. "I promise, that no matter what, we will see eachother again. Maybe not soon, but it will happen, one way or another." he said. Dia nodded, and moved towards 80. The red and silver giant's glowing eyes flashed once, then the void vanished.

She was back in General Pepper's office. The wizened blood-hound looked at Krystal with a mix or concern and puzzlement. "Are you alright, Krystal?"

"Y-yes. Just, a little light headed." the vixen replied, holding her head. The room seemed to swim for a bit, then refocused.

"Did you find what you were looking for?" he asked.

"Yes, and no." she said.

"How do you mean?" he asked.

"I know who Jim really is now, now I have more questions than answers." she said. 'I don't understand. Why did Jim not tell me about the memories that he had. Or, were they memories to him? And another thing, just what really happened to Cerinia? I was told that it was destroyed. But, is that what _really_ happened?' these thoughts and more were going through her mind at the speed of light, however, something else caught her attention; a scream echoed through the hallway behind the door, making the vixen turn towards it, and the general to stand up in a shot. Then, the door blew inwards, forcing Krystal to the ground, and the general to shield himself. When Krystal looked up, she was most surprised to see who it was that stepped through.

"Well, it looks like you finally know the truth, eh Krystal?" A familiar voice said, full of amusement.

"Claire?" Krystal asked, seeing the female lupine standing before her. Whether she knows it or not, things are going to get a lot worse for her.


	39. Glimpse of the Future

Chapter 39

Glimpse of the Future

He felt it. The second that Krystal left for parts unknown to him, Jim has felt a presence that felt all too familiar to him. Though faint, it didn't fail to send a chill down his spine. That was a few hours ago on the bridge of the Great Fox. Now, he has felt the same presence again. This time, with more striking clarity than he has felt in a long while. He ran to the hangar of the Great Fox, and looked out onto the face of Corneria. He felt the presence there, and acted almost solely on instinct; his Brace flashed once, and he raised it to his heart.

CACC, at that time: Krystal was lying belly-down on the floor, looking up at the intruder who had broken her way into the facility. The door was blown in, and the bodies of several Cornerian Army guards littered the hallway. However, it wasn't the carnage that concerned the vixen, it was who was standing in front of her. "Claire?" she asked. It was almost a year ago that she first met the wolf-girl, who was delivering special supplies to the research station on Fortuna that was ran by the late Professor Addleson, where the remains of the long-dead Ultra Sheja were found, and Jim's memories were starting to return to him. However, that was the last the team ever saw of her, until now. The lupine looked down at the vixen, and smiled in a wicked way.

"Hello, Krystal. So nice to see you again. Have you been taking good care of Jim, 'cause I know that he has been taking _real_ good care of you guys." She stepped toward the prone vixen, and placed a hand under her chin, bringing her face up to hers. "You have no idea what a real _pain_ you guys have been to us. The time it took us to plan for Gorzul's return was tedious, and the means to obtain the necessary materials to set the plan in motion were painstaking. But it all paid off, seemingly, when Gorzul finally returned to us all those years ago. You were still a child, living in a mud-hut on that backwater little world of yours when he came back. However, there was something very important on that planet that made Gorzul take a portion of his might to get rid of. I believe that you know what that is?"

"Jim…" Krystal replied, her face still being held in Claire's palm. The lupine smiled dryly and laughed mirthlessly.

"Exactly. When he found out that the same Ultra that had set him free was still alive and kicking, he wanted him dead in the _worst_ way. So he ravaged your planet, not just that little village of yours, to the ground, leaving very few, if any, survivors left. Your world still exists, though it's not the same as it was before." Krystal snarled when she heard this from the lupine. "Look on the bright side: At least you still _have _a planet to call home. Zenith, or should I say Jim, has nothing left. His world was destroyed by us, and he turned his back on the Ultra race. He's nothing more than a homeless derelict now."

"You're wrong!" Krystal shouted, making Claire flinch unintentionally. Krystal stood up, albeit uneasily, and faced Claire with a rage that she had not felt in a long while. "Jim turned his back on the Ultra race because they planned on _killing_ all of us to bring back the same race that Sheja was guarding thousands of years ago. They were arrogantly stupid, and Jim would have nothing more to do with them. Also, even though you monsters reduced his home to a bare shadow of its former self, he still has Corneria, the Star Fox team, and me. He still has a family with us. And that is something that you will _never_ take away from him." As she said this, Krystal could feel a power build up within her, giving her strength, and wiping the fatigue in her muscles away. She stood more upright, more assured, and more determined than before. Claire continued to smile.

"So, looks like you're also starting to awaken as well." she replied. Krystal tilted her head to one side.

"What do you mean?"

"Jim isn't the only one with powers, you know. You also have a gift within yourself, one that makes itself known among your race once in a thousand years. Your people were famous for it, and each have this ability. However, the ones who are not chosen wield merely a fraction of its full power, like telepathy, and simple healing tricks. However, once in a millennia, an individual of your race has the ability to evolve into what would be the perfect being in this universe, rivaling that of the Ultras themselves." Claire chuckled, and went on. "There was more than one reason why Gorzul went to Cerinia. It was because of Jim, yes, but also because he felt _you _there. He knew what you would become, and that you would be as big of a threat as Jim would be, if you were not taken care of."

"What I would…become?" Krystal asked, still not grasping what Claire was telling her. The lupine merely chuckled, and was about to go on, when a new voice filled the room.

"Freeze! Hands where we can see them!" Several armed guards stormed into the office, and surrounded the two women. General Pepper stood up from his seat, and walked next to the captain of the guards.

"The vixen is with me, captain. The lupine, however, is responsible for breaking and entering, and killing my men." The soldiers' weapons then pointed from Krystal, and focused solely on Claire. However, the she-wolf merely chuckled in response to the turn of events.

"You lower life-forms believe me to be at a disadvantage? Don't make me laugh."

"Shut up! Hands where we can see them!" the captain shouts, pointing his rifle at the she-wolf.

"You wish to see my hands? Very well, I will let you see them." With that said, Claire raised her hands, and thrust them at the group. The soldiers immediately grabbed their heads in apparent pain, and writhed on the floor, groaning in agony. Krystal could feel the telepathic assault, and the power sent shivers down her spine. She and the general were unaffected, but couldn't help but gape at the sight as the soldiers were writhing on the floor as Claire had her hands pointed at them, laughing in an evil way. Their noses, ears, and eyes began to bleed, and the groans became screams of pure torment. Then, as if in unison, their heads popped like giant pimples, sending blood and brain-matter all across the room. Krystal and Pepper got covered in the gore, while Claire was unaffected; the gore was splashing against an invisible wall in front of her. Her laughter continued as she lowered her arms. Footsteps were heard, but Claire seemed unalarmed by this. She raised a hand at the pair, who immediately dove out of her way. Two soldiers arrived as her arm was raised. They fired their weapons, but the laser fire did not enter the door-way. The soldiers tried to enter themselves, but bumped into something unseen. They tried to break whatever it was down with the butts of their rifles, but to no avail, their strikes not even making a sound, and their shouts couldn't be heard as well. "That's better. We won't be interrupted any longer." Claire said in apparent satisfaction. She turned to Krystal and Pepper, an evil smile on her muzzle. She started to advance on them, but Krystal halted her for a moment.

"Wait!"

"What?"

"Who are you, really?" she asked, hoping to stall for time. Claire chuckled, and replied.

"You wish to know who I am? Very well, I suppose I cannot deny a final request." She placed a hand on herself, as if to identify who she really was. "Like the others that you have encountered, I too am from the Ultraverse, the same reality that Zenith/Jim hails from. However, my kind have existed there a bit longer than the Ultras. We are the darkness that thrives in that reality. The races that you have encountered thus far, Keronia, Shaplay, Metron, they are nothing like us. We are a force, that _even_ the Ultras have learned to fear. You should know about us. After all, one of my kind had possessed the one you called Fox a little over a year ago." Krystal's mind flash-backed to when Fox was taken over by something called a 'Dark Breed', when Jim first arrived on the ship.

"You mean that…you're a…" Claire chuckled in response.

"That's right, sweetie. I'm a Dark Breed. But, unlike the lower caste that you faced, I'm a whole lot worse than that." Her eyes glowed a dark shade of violet, and she started to walk slowly towards the pair. "I was sent by Gorzul to tie up a loose end before you could regain your memory. However, It would seem that you beat me to the punch. No matter. I'll simply do away with the pair of you." Her hands glowed, and purple flames danced out of them, casting an eerie glow about the blood-spattered room as Claire raised them threateningly at them. "I've been waiting to do this to you for a long time, little girl. Finally, I get to end you. And don't you worry, I'll take good care of Jim. When you're gone, I won't kill him. That would be a waste of valuable resources. I plan on turning him into my own personal slave, mine to do with as I wish, completely loyal to me, and only me." Claire continued to wear that evil grin as she said this. Krystal felt anger rise within her as she said this.

"You won't lay a hand on him!" she replied, her emotions taking over. Claire laughed at this, stopping in mid-step.

"Really? And who's going to stop me? You?" She continue to laugh at this. Then, her eyes narrowed, and Krystal sharp pain in her head. She grasped it, groaning in pain like the soldiers who died before her. She fell to her knees, still holding her head and groaning

"Krystal!" Pepper shouted, kneeling next to Krystal and placing his hands on her shoulders, trying to comfort her.

"Don't worry, you old fool. She won't die like the others. I'm merely going to show something she'll find interesting." Pepper turned a gaze to her, one filled with contempt and anger. A look that he had not made since he could remember. Krystal, however, had ceased groaning, and laid limply on the floor. Pepper still knelt next to her, never tearing his gaze from the hell-spawned thing in wolf's clothing in front of him. Krystal, however, didn't move. Her body was still, but her consciousness, or rather spirit/soul, was somewhere else.

She was in the remains of a ruined city. The sky overhead was covered with thick, dark clouds, lightning shooting across them. Everywhere she looked, there was destruction. Buildings were either brought down to ruin, or were still standing, but with only a fraction of what they once had. Vehicles were turned over and smoking, some even aflame. And the bodies, littering the streets by the hundreds at least. As Krystal walked slowly amid the scene, she looked up, and stood stock still; a giant form was standing above her, its back turned to her, standing at least fourty meters tall. It turned to look down at her, and what she saw made her breath catch in her throat. It was an Ultra, and one that was surprisingly familiar. In fact, it was one that she knew all too well. "Jim." she said, almost under her breath. Indeed, it was Ultraman Zenith, but different. She could hardly make it out, but when the lightning flashed across the sky, she could see it clearly; his design had gone from bright red, to pitch black. His eyes no longer shone yellow, but glowed a deep crimson. And his warning light was not shining anymore, and had the texture of pure onyx. Zenith, had fallen, and became a Dark Ultra. "Jim…no…" Krystal took an involuntary step back from the giant, as he turned around completely to get a better look at her. It took a step forward, the shockwave nearly knocking Krystal down on her rear. It knelt down, and reached for her. "No, Jim, STOP!" Krystal shielded herself from the crushing grip that was to come, knowing it would be futile. After what seemed like an eternity, she lowered her guard, and opened her eyes. The scene shifted to that of General Pepper's office, which was a shambles. Debris littered the office, and a blood-stained cap was lying on the floor. Claire was standing in front of the view, which was little more than a large hole that was once the wall behind the desk. She turned to Krystal, and the vixen could see the lupine more clearly now. No longer clothed in her usual attire, the she-wolf wore what looked like to be a tribal garb, consisting of a dark purple brazier showing ample cleavage, and a loincloth going down to her feet, and wearing a type of headdress. Her eyes were glowing a deep lavender, and she wore a smile that promised wickedness. Then, Jim came from behind, and stood next to her. He was clad in the same attire as when he returned from M78. Only, his eyes were also glowing the same color as Claire's. The she-wolf offered her hand to him, and the Dark Ultra accepted it, bringing it to his lips and kissing it. Then, both turned to look out of the gaping hole that was once the wall, overlooking the ruined city as lightning danced across the sky.

"Look, my willing slave. Is it not beautiful?" Claire asked. Jim placed an arm around her waist, while Claire had her hand placed on his.

"Yes, my mistress. It is indeed a spectacle to behold." Jim replied, in an echoing voice. Claire laughed in response.

"You say that, because you were the one who created it so."

"I am merely the brush. You are the true artist." Jim replied. Claire let out a giggle.

"Flatterer." she replied. Krystal saw all of this, and was silent through it all. Claire turned in her direction, and smiled at her. "You see the future that me and your boyfriend will create. With you out of the way, Zenith will fall. And I'll be there to catch him when he does. And after that, well, you get the idea. But don't worry, I have something special in mind for you." Claire took two steps towards her and continued to speak. "Even though you will die, physically, your soul, spirit, whatever it is that you people have that I haven't, will remain on this plane. You will be ghost, unable to do anything, except watch as your Zenith tears down everything that you hold dear. You will watch, as a spirit trapped here for an eternity, as your world is torn apart at the seams by the very boy that you fell for." Claire chuckled. "Ironic, isn't it. The very one whom you thought wouldn't make you feel so lonely, will be your own undoing. I love delicious irony like that." Krystal couldn't hold back anymore. She lashed out with a leap at Claire, who seemed surprised by this. However, when her nose was just inches from Claire's Krystal stopped in mid-air, and was floating in front of the lupine. Claire laughed again. "Still have some fight in you?" Krystal snarled, and tried to break free form her unseen bonds, but to no avail. All the while, the fallen Jim watched the spectacle with a blank expression. "I knew that someone like you would let her emotions run rampant. After all your talk and discipline about maintaining your feelings, I see this little display. You're little more than a hypocrite. A thing beneath me, and him." she said, pointing to Jim behind her. Krystal looked at the fallen Ultra, his expression still blank. With a thrusting motion from Claire's arm, Krystal was thrown across the room like a rag doll. Landing heavily upon the floor, Krystal tried to get up, but was held there by the same force that held her in mid-air, and Claire was moving closer to her until she was standing over her. "However, this is but step one of my plan. Once Gorzul has this reality, I plan on taking Zenith back with me to our own world, and rebuild the Land of Light from the ashes. A world made by our own hands. And after that, well, we will need to repopulate it, now won't we?" Claire stood up, and walked next to Jim. "What's a world of your own choosing, with no one to share it with? Once the Ultra race has fallen by my race and Zenith, his and my offspring will sweep over the ruins like a tidal wave, rebuilding the planet in _our_ image." The lupine placed a hand on her belly in an affectionate manner, while she nuzzled up against Jim. "And the two proud parents will watch it all, won't we my love?" she dragged her tongue across the side of his face when she said this. That was all the vixen could take.

"Get…your paws…off OF HIM!" When she yelled this, Claire was flung back away from Jim, as if swatted by an invisible hand, right out of the view overlooking the ruins of Corneria City. Krystal felt herself able to move again, and strode over to Jim. She looked at him, but his expression was still blank, his purple glowing eyes going over her. Her expression softened, and she placed her hands on both sides of his face. 'Oh Jim, is this really the future that is in store for us? Is this what is waiting for us if Gorzul wins?' she laid her head against his, resting it upon his shoulder. He felt cold, not alive when she did this. Then, laughter was heard. It was feminine, and full of malice.

"Not bad, girl. I underestimated you that time. However, your true potential has yet to fully awaken. You full memory has yet to be returned to you. As such, you are still incomplete, and your true power cannot be awakened. Fortunately, you won't be around long enough to achieve your true potential. The future is already in motion, already decided for us. You have seen that yourself." the scene fell to nothing but blackness. Everywhere the vixen looked, it was nothing but blackness. "It has been written long before you were born that Gorzul will return to glory. He will rule all, and all will be nothing but his to do with. _That_ is the future!"

"You're wrong!" Krystal shouted back. "The future is not set in stone! Jim believes in that, and so do I!" Claire's voice chuckled in response.

"He may now, but not for long." Then, General Pepper's office came rushing back at Krystal. She saw herself lying on the floor, and picked herself up. General Pepper was visibly relieved by this, and helped Krystal to her feet. Claire still stood where she was, still wearing that same grin that she held this whole time. Krystal's expression hardened, and she spoke with contempt for the lupine.

"I'll make sure your plan won't come to fruition. Whatever it is that you have planned for Jim, you might as well forget about it. There's no way that you'll possess him."

"Well, looks like we'll find out in a few moments." Claire replied. Krystal lifted an eyebrow in confusion, while Claire continued to grin. Then, she saw what she meant. Through the view, Krystal could see a red light coming at them. In seconds, it became a crimson ball of light, and burst through the window. The sphere was five feet in diameter, and had a bright orange center. Then, it morphed into a form that Claire and Krystal knew so well; Ultraman Zenith stood before them. The red and silver Warrior of Light stood between Krystal, General Pepper and Claire. Zenith looked behind him, and nodded to the pair. Krystal smiled at him, while Pepper returned the nod. Then, he focused his attention back on Claire.

"I don't know how you were able to elude me for so long, Dark Breed, but this is the last time that you will _ever_ try to pull something like this." Zenith said, pointing an accusing finger at Claire. The lupine merely chuckled at this.

"Well, well, well. Look what the cat dragged in. Is this how you greet a girl, after all this time?" she asked, feigning a hurt look.

"I don't know what the _hell_ you are, but you are definitely no girl, Dark Breed. I'm going to do what I should've done when we first met." Jim took on a combat stance, then lunged at Claire. The lupine merely smiled.

"Jim, no!" Krystal shouted, but it was already too late. Zenith was suspended in mid-air. He turned his head from side to side, then tried to break free from his unseen bonds, grunting with effort as he did so. Claire strode up to him, and ran a hand over the side of his silvery mask-like face. Zenith pulled his head back, away from her touch. Claire merely chuckled in amusement.

"Still the feisty one, eh? Well, we'll change that attitude real quick." She thrusted her hand upon his warning light, the action making Zenith give a yell of pain. Then, light started to seep from Zenith, and enter Claire's hand. She continued to smirk as she did this. Gradually, Zenith's struggling became weaker and weaker, and his eyes dimmed. A constant chime could be heard, warning Zenith of total drainage. "That sound is music to my ears." Claire said when the chime started.

"Leave him alone!" Krystal shouted, and ran at Claire, with every intent on ripping her head off. Claire glanced at her, and Krystal was flung into the wall and slumped to the floor with a groan. Claire laughed heartily at this, and turned back to Zenith. Krystal got back up, not intending to let this go. The vixen pulled out her staff, and extended it to its full length of two-three meters. She pointed the round end at Claire, and fired off a fire-ball. However, the attack was deflected off of the same unseen barrier as the others were. Claire merely laughed at this.

"Is that the best you've got? An old Ultra's toy? That thing's ancient since before even _I_ was born. It's no match for me!" Krystal continued to fire off rounds at Claire, but to no avail. She saw Zenith's arms go limp by his sides as he hung there, suspended by Claire's power as she continued to siphon off of his energy. Krystal was starting to feel helpless before her. She promised that Claire wouldn't get her hands on Jim, and now her promise was being broken, and there's nothing that she can do about it. Then, she felt it. Like earlier in the vision of the future, she could feel something well up within her. She concentrated, and focused on Claire, her glaring emeralds glowing sapphire.

"I said, leave…him…ALONE!" When Krystal said this, Claire was sent flying through the room, and right through the concrete wall, leaving a large hole where she was sent through. Krystal's eyes went back to their normal color, and she saw Zenith drop to the floor abruptly. She ran to him, and held him in her arms. The chime from his warning light was constant, warning of immediate drainage. Zenith's glowing eyes were dim, barely lit up, like the life in them was fading fast.

"Krys…tal…"

"Don't try to talk, Jim. You're very low on power right now. You need to revert right now."

"It's…already too late…I'm afraid…"

"No! It's not too late. You can still change back! You've done it before, and you can still do it!"

"No. My power…is already lost…I only have…moments left…before total loss…" Zenith placed a silvery hand on the side of Krystal's face. The vixen held it with her own hand, and caressed it, her eyes closed. "I'm sorry…Krystal…chan…" then, though she didn't notice at first, the chime from his warning light had ceased. She looked down, and found that his eyes had gone dark, his warning light no longer glowing. The hand fell limply from her face, and landed on the floor.

"No…no, Jim!" she shook him, trying to get him to wake up. But, it was too late. His power gone, Zenith was little more than an empty vessel. Krystal felt tears well up, and dropped onto the silvery face of the Ultra.

"Now, isn't this just touching." A voice said. Krystal looked up, and was pushed back by an unseen force, right into a wall. Pain exploded in the back of her skull and her back. She looked up, and saw Zenith's body levitate off of the floor, Claire holding an arm out towards the limp form. She cast an evil smile Krystal's way, and both of them vanished without a trace. Krystal got up, and walked painfully to where they had disappeared, then fell to a knee. General Pepper, who had been watching the whole thing, went over to the vixen's side, and placed his hands on her shoulders in an attempt to comfort her. But what comfort can he give to her? The one that she cared for the most had been taken from her right before her eyes. Never before has she felt so helpless. She promised that Claire wouldn't get her hands on him, but now, the lupine drained him of his energy, and made off with his body, and there was nothing that she could do about it. All she could do now, was let the tears fall freely from her muzzle

Somewhere in space: Gorzul sat upon its throne when Claire had appeared in front of it. The hooded figure regarded them with interest. "Were you able to accomplish your mission?" it asked in a raspy voice.

"No, sire. But, I was able to bring you something of interest."

"Oh? And what might that be?" it asked. Claire smiled. Behind her, Zenith's body rematerialized on the floor. Gorzul shot up out of its throne when he saw this. "What is the meaning of this!" it asked hoarsely. Claire replied in a casual manner.

"Zenith appeared right when I was about to do _both_ Pepper and Krystal in. I was unable to kill them. But, for what I have in mind, it won't matter."

"Explain yourself." Gorzul demanded.

"You are looking at your new candidate. Zenith shall join our ranks as a Dark Ultra, and bring ruin unto the Lylat System."

"But is he not dead?" Gorzul asked.

"No, he is merely drained of energy. And I must say, that his life-force tasted delicious." Claire replied. Gorzul let out a raspy chuckle.

"I see. When he awakens, he will be turned to _my_ cause. He will be the ultimate soldier of destruction, loyal to me, and carry out my commands without fail, unlike my _past_ lieutenants. Claire, you have outdone yourself child. When this world is shaped in my image, you shall have anything that you wish. Name it, and it shall be so when the time is ripe."

"I want only one thing."

"Oh? And what is that, my child?"

"Him. I want him, by my side." she said, pointing at Zenith's body. Gorzul looked at it, silent. Then, a slight chuckle escaped it, then laughter was heard, echoing through the halls of Gorzul's fortress.

Somewhere: He was in a void. It was dark, cold, and very lonely. Everywhere he looked, there was nothing but darkness that greeted his sight. However, one thing kept running itself through his mind, hoping that it would chase away the darkness. One name that kept on repeating itself of its own whim. "Krystal…"


	40. Dark Zenith

Chapter 40

Dark Zenith

She was having it again. The nightmares. For the past few weeks, she'd waken up in a cold sweat, her t-shirt, shorts, and sheets drenched in perspiration. Her white fur was matted in moisture, and her eyes stung from the sweat in her eyes. Every night, Faye Pepper had woken up from a nightmare that clung at her heart with fear. Still breathing hard from this experience, Faye held her head in her head, and lied back down in her bed. She sighed. The nightmarish images may have been forgotten, but not the fear. And, what's more, it was something very familiar, but she couldn't remember what it was. She continued to stare up at the cieling as the street-lamps cast thier luminescence into the room.

Great Fox, in orbit around Corneria: Fox was in his room, going over the report that Krystal had given him about the incident that happened in General Pepper's office. The fact that Jim had been apprehended by Claire had greatly disturbed him. What had the lupine wanted with him? It had been almost a week since the incident, and no sign of Jim had made itself known. Bad enough that he was kidnapped, but finding out that he was taken by the same thing that had possessed him a little over a year ago, and had heard about the Dark Breed's plan from Krystal, has him more than a little troubled. And, on top of that, Krystal seemed depressed. She spent most of her time in her room, hardly coming out except to eat and head for the gym. The scene of Claire making off with him still flashed through her mind, almost as much as the memories that she has of her and Jim on Cerinia as children. She wonders why he never told her about it before, and was going to ask him about it. But now… She sat on her bed, looking out of the viewport into the star-specked reaches of space, her thoughts going over everything that had happened to her. Now that her own memory was restored, what now? She doesn't know where Jim was taken, or when and where the Dark Breed will strike. She felt helpless now, more so than she had been in a long while.

Unknown part of Space: "Is he ready yet?" Gorzul asked. Clara was standing in front of it, her head was facing down.

"Yes, sire. He is ready and waiting for your order to bring Lylat under your rule."

"Excellent. Meet up with him to commence the first phase."

"Yes, sire." Clara got up and left the room, leaving Gorzul in the room. The cloaked figure chuckled in amusement.

"How ironic, that the people will be undone by the very same person who has been protecting them this whole time." It laughed again, this time a bit more loudly. "Yes. Truly ironic. He he he he he he he he."

Lylat System, just outside of Venom's orbit: Two masses of glowing luminescence were headed for the planet Corneria. Having been ordered to do so after one their numbers has been captured by Gorzul, Mebius and Hikari prayed that they would not be too late before something catastrophic happened.

Corneria, a short time later: In the Corinthia, the sun was shining over the sky-scrapers on a cloudless day while the people went to and fro about their daily lives. Above them, something happened; what looked like a crack appeared in the sky. The loud noise made most of the people to stop in their tracks, and look up. The crack got bigger, and bigger, and pieces started to fall from it,revealing a dark red back-ground behind the cracking sky. Then, with a loud burst, a hole appeared in the sky where the crack was, and a dark shadow was seen inside of it. Its body was shrouded in darkness, but what could be seen, were the two glowing red oval-shaped orbs that appeared to be eyes. Then, the shape leapt out of the hole, which promptly repaired itself when the figure jumped out. The figure landed in the middle of the city, and the people could see it clearly now, after getting over the shock of what had just happened; It was fourty meters in hieght when it was standing up, mostly silver with black acting as a sort of covering over various parts of the body including black 'briefs', a helmet-like head with a mouth-piece, glowing red eyes and a fin going through the center face, with what looked like a black jewel in the shape of an upside-down triangle in the center of its chest. The people didn't know this, but a Dark Ultra had just appeared before them. It looked at the people before it with the glowing red eyes, and began to move. It walked slowly and purposefully down a street, stepping on cars and pedestrians alike, small explosions erupting and throwing smoke everywhere he stepped. The people were in a panic, running to and fro from the uncaring invader. Then, it raised one of its hands at a building before it, and the hand glowed with purple energy. Then, it fired a dark violet beam at the building, which struck the structure, and made it explode into fragments. The debris fell onto the people below, crushing them to death on impact. The beam was still being fired, and the Dark Ultra dragged the beam across the landscape, turning everything into rubble before it. The military was quick to respond, per usual, and like always, were totally ineffective against the Dark Ultra, the Cornerian Fighter squadrons and Landmaster Tank battalions doing little more than annoy and irritate the fourty meter tall giant. The Dark Ultra fired its beam again, and in seconds the defenders were all reduced to so much debris. Lowering its arms, the titan of darkness turned away, and continued on stomping through the city. On the Great Fox, the team assembled in the command bridge, and saw the Dark Ultra tear Corinthia City apart. Only, it wasn't the destruction itself that they were focused on,but rather, on the entity that was causing it. The Dark Ultra bore a striking resemblance to another Ultra that the team had known for quite some time, one that Krystal had known for most of her own life. "No…it can't be…" she says to herself, but it is. Claire's promise came true after all; Zenith had become a Dark Ultra. Dark Zenith tore through several office buildings with his beam attack, not even caring about the hundreds of innocents below that would get caught in the rubble. As the once Warrior of Light tore through the city, leaving nothing but smoking debris and destruction in his wake, the Fox was at a loss at what to do. Here was one of the team's members, practically a member of bis family, tearing apart his own home.

"Fox, what do we do?" Slippy asked. The lupine turned to the amphibian, and looked at his teammates, especially at Krystal. He saw the look on her face, and looked away. When he looked back, he had a determined expression.

"We go into action. Even if it is Jim out there, we have to protect Corneria, no matter what." With that said, he made his way to the hangar, followed by the other four team members. Fox, Slippy, Falco, Krystal, even Peppy got into their arwings. Then, all five fighters headed out of the hangar, and sped to the planet's surface. In the city, sirens were going off, rivaling the cacophony of explosions blossoming around Dark Zenith. The Dark Ultra strode across the streets like a god among mere mortals, not caring for who got in his way, nor who got trampled underfoot. All he was concerned about, was the same order that even now rung in his ears; bring the planet Corneria to its knees. And so far, he was off to a fine start. Then, _they_ appeared, coming out of the still blue sky, the five arwings descended upon the stricken city. The Dark Ultra paid them no heed, still going on his leisurely stroll through the city streets. "Krystal, try to reach him" Fox said over his intercomm system. Krystal reached out with her mind, trying to probe the Dark Ultra's thoughts. What she got, was nothing. It was as if Zenith were nothing more than a machine, completely soulless, and without a mind of his own. That's when Dark Zenith decided to take notice of the five ships, casting his glowing red eyes on the Star Fox team. Krystal felt a shiver of fear go down her spine when she saw the glowing red eyes focus on her. Then, he brought up both of his arms, and fired the same energy beam at them. The team evaded the attack, but that was merely the beginning. Switching tactics, Dark zenith fired violet energy blasts, not unlike the type that Dark Faust used. Again, the Star Fox team evaded them, but refused to fire upon him. However, something happened; the purple blasts of enery that Dark Zenith was firing began to home in on the arwings. The arwings dodged and juked, but the energy blasts followed them like maddened hornets. Slippy's own ship lost a wing from the assault, and began to plummet to the ground.

"Slippy!" Fox shouted. Slippy struggled with the controls, and when it looked like his fighter was just inches from the ground, The arwing righted itself, and flew back up into the sky. "Slippy, are ya okay?" Fox asked.

"I lost a wing, but I can still fly." the amphibian replied. Dark Zenith continued to look up at the flying craft. Fox looked at the Dark Ultra, and decided.

"Guys, we need to take him out." With that, Fox flew forward and fired the nose laser at the Dark Ultra. The green laser blasts impacted against his chest and abdomen and threw sparks, but other than that, did no apparent damage. Dark Zenith let out a loud "_**Hmph!"**_, as if he were amused by the attempt, then more laser blasts were followed, the sudden assault catching him off guard. Charged shots and nova bombs struck either him, or the ground around him, explosions covering his form. Dark Zenith stumbled back from the assault, and fell to a knee, grunting in apparent pain. But still, the arwings would not relent, and continued to assault the Dark Ultra until he couldn't be seen, on account of the thick smoke that rose up from the ground. The arwings froze in mid-air, anxiously waiting for anything. Then, the smoke blew away, revealing an undamaged Dark Zenith standing before them.

"No way, not even a scratch…" Falco said, shocked at the pounding that he had taken and was still standing strong. The Dark Ultra had his arms folded across his chest and was looking at the floating arwings, as if daring them to attack. Then, a voice cackled over their intercomm systems, and a ship descended next to the Dark Ultra. Fox remembered that ship from somewhere, then it hit him.

"That ship…is that Claire's?" he asks himself.

"You guessed it, fox-boy." the lupine's voice replied. Her face appeared on his, and everyone else's, HUDs, and was wearing a knowing smile on her muzzle. Fox snarled when he saw her image.

"What do you want, Claire?" he nearly shouted. Claire chuckled and replied.

"Why, simply to bring about my masters' plan, and my own. You see, in taking over this reality, Gorzul agreed to let me take Zenith for my own. A fair deal, if you ask me."

"Deal? What does he get out of it?" Fox asked.

"She's a Dark Breed, Fox. She probably knows something."

"A bit more than that, I'm afraid." Claire replied before going on. "You see, I'm part of the reaon why Kaiju and Seijin are making themselves known to you people. True, that the Ultras are able to use and manipulate the Gate Way to this reality, but I'm the one who perfected it, and the Gate Way tied to my will, allowing me to bring in anything I choose. From a large invasion force of thousands of warships to a single, planet devouring entity, I can summon anything from the Ultraverse on a whim. This is the secret to Gorzul's invasion force, or rather, how he was able to summon the monsters that you have faced thus far. However, that is only part of the riddle."

"What riddle?" Fox asked. "Stopped talking in circles, and give us a straight answer!" Claire chuckled again in amusement.

"You really don't know, do you. You don't know who it is that you are up against." Then, she laughed out loud, her voice echoing across the intercomm systems of the arwings. "This is rich. You _still_ haven't figured out who it is that you are up against. That armada that you encountered a short time ago should have at least tipped you off."

"That…armada." Fox asked, remembering the same armada that the team, and the Ultras Mebius and Hikari had helped them fend off.

"Exactly. The first place they went to, when encountered by the two Ultras Mebius and Hikari, was Venom. Now, why would that be, I wonder?" she asks, a knowing smile still glued on her muzzle.

"That's just a coincidence." Fox replied.

"Was it, now?" she asked. The ship turned to face the Dark Ultra. "Zenith! The time has come to dispose of these worthless mongrels! If they do not have the good sense to figure out who their new ruler will be, then they have no business in living!" The Dark Ultra unfolded his arms, and faced the Arwings. He raised on of his hands at the five ships, dark energy gathering into the his open palm, forming an orb of dark purple. Aiming it at the five ships, the newly formed Dark Cluster was ready to be unleashed. However, he never fired it. He just kept his pose, holding the dark ball in his palm. Claire took notice. "Zenith, what's wrong? Finish them off, now!" Dark Zenith looked to Claire's ship, then to the five arwings. However, it wasn't the arwings he was focusing on, but rather one of the pilots. He could see the blue vixen inside of her fighter. At the sight of her, he lowered his arm, the violet death-ball evaporating, with Dark Zenith keeping his gaze on the vixen.

"_**Krystal…chan…?"**_ he asked. Krystal could feel the recognition well up in him.

"Jim, you _are_ in there…" the vixen replied. Claire looked at the Dark Ultra, then to Krystal's arwing.

"So…it's _you!_" the lupine hissed. She flew in front of the Dark Ultra, intent on ending this farce. "Listen to me, Zenith. _She's _a trickster. A sheep in wolf's clothing! In the end, your heart would have been broken. Remember what it was to be alone, and how you blamed her? Remember that now,and stike down the one who made so alone!" The ship floated out of his way, leaving the team open to his attack. The Dark Ultra looked at the team, then at his hands.

"_**I…"**_

"Jim, you're still in there! You don't want to do this! Remember what it was like with us!" Krystal pleaded. Zenith clenched his fists, and shook visibly as the memories rose up. Inside her ship, Claire felt a twinge of nervousness go up her spine.

"Time to end this." Her eyes glowed, and she raised a hand at the Dark Ultra. Just then, Dark Zenith grasped his head in apparent pain, groaning loudly and falling to a knee.

"Jim!" Krystal shouted. She felt his pain, and looked at Claire's ship. Angling her fighter, she let loose a charged shot at it, only to have a violet energy ball knock it away. Dark Zenithstood back up, and faced the five arwings. He raised his hand again, forming the Dark Cluster once more. Only this time, he fired it. The team braced themselves for the impact, which never came; A blue beam connected with the Dark Cluster, and the chain reaction of light and dark making it explode. Then, two orbs of light landed and took on shapes that both the Star Fox team and Claire recognized at once; Mebius and Hikari stood between the Dark Ultra and Claire, and the Star Fox team. The pair looked behind them, and nodded at the team, and took up a combat stance.

"Mebius, Hikari, no!" Krystal shouted. "You can't fight him, that's Jim!"

"We know, Krystal-san. But that doesn't change the fact that he is now a Dark Ultra." Mebius replied.

"He is beyond hope. We have only one option left to us." Hikari added. Dark Zenith took up a combat stance himself, and with a shout, charged at the two Ultras. Fighting both of them at the same time, Dark Zenith held his own against the two Warriors of Light, while Mebius and Hikari traded blows with the Dark Ultra. Mebius went for several jabs to Dark Zenith's mid-section, but the Dark Ultra grabbed his wrist, and twisted it, bringing the red and silver Warrior of Light to a knee. Then, while still holdiing Mebius down, Dark Zenith blocked a side-kick from Hikari, and landed a jump-kick on the blue Ultra's face, knocking him back. Turning back to Mebius, Dark Zenith dragged the struggling Ultra to his feet, sent to punches to his face, and sent him flying into Hikari. Both Warriors of Light went crashing in a heap on the ground. Mebius and Hikari got back up, and were met with a clothes-line each from Dark Zenith, and were sent back down to the ground, with the Dark Ultra standing above them. He graabed them by the throat, and lifted them up, their feet leaving the crumbled gound. His grip tightened as the Warriors of Light struggled against him. Then, he threw both of them away, where they crashed against a few office buildings, sending the buildings into smoldering ruins with the Ultras slumping to the ground. The Dark Ultra stood, leering at them, immovable as a statue. Mebius and Hikari got to their feet, and fired their Mebium and Hikari Arrows at him, the edged blades of energy impacting against Dark Zenith's body and throwing sparks, but nothing more. Taken aback, Mebius and Hikari got back into their combat stances. Dark Zenith formed his Dark Cluster,and threw it at the two Ultras, who barely got out of the way in time as the orb of dark violet crashed into the ground, and turned the ruined buildings within the surrounding city blocks into more rubble. Mebius and Hikari recovered, and faced the Dark Ultra. They charged their Mebium and Hikari shots, and fired the blue and gold beams at Dark Zenith. The attacks connected, and a brilliant flash of light and large explosion ensued. The Ultras lowered their arms, and waited for the smoke and dust to settle. However, both of them felt that the threat had been neutralized, despite how painful it was for them to do so.

"We're sorry, nii-san." Mebius says, almost uner his breath, but the Star Fox team was able to catch it, and shared the same emotions that he was feeling right now. Then, laughter was heard, and Claire's ship came into view.

"You fools think that your pathetic attack can harm Zenith? You are more foolish than I thought." As is to punctuate her statement, Dark Zenith strolled out from behind the smoke, looking as if nothing had happened at all to him. Mebius and Hikari were shocked by this, the fact that the Dark Ultra was able to withstand the double attack was staggering to say the least. "Now, Dark Zenith, show them what _true_ power really is!" Claire ordered, punctuating the word 'true'. Zenith raised both of his arms above his head, the wrists meeting and forming an 'X' above him. Mebius and Hikari gasped as thye recognized the technique. Then, Dark Zenith brought his finger-tips to the edge of his warning light, dark energy swirling into his warning light. He swung his left arm out, perfectly horizontal, while his right arm was bent upward at the waist, the fingers fully extended with the thumb bent into the hand.

"_**MEGANIUMMU-" **_he shouted when he made the gesture. _**"KOUSEN!" **_he finalized by bringing the left arm in, closing the hand into a fist and planting it on the inside of his right arm, while the right arm remained bent upward. A dark Violet beam fired, streaked with gold fired and struck the ground that the Ultras Mebius and Hikari were standing on. Both Ultras were sent flying, yelling as they went. They landed in a heap on the torn ground, their warning lights flashing rapidly, warning of total drainage. Mebius struggled to his feet, and stumbled to stand. When he was standing again on wobbly legs, he was knocked down by a blow from behind. He turned over, and saw Dark Zenith's glowing red eyes on him. He felt the iron grip on his throat once more, and felt his wind being cut off. Mebius struggled against his grip, but to no avail. Dark Zenith felt something strike him from behind, and saw Hikari with his blade drawn, and taking up a combat stance. Still holding Mebius, Dark Zenith turned bodily to face the Warrior of Light. With a shout, Hikari thrusted with his blade, hoping to nail Dark Zenith in the warning light, only to have Dark Zenith use Mebius as a living shield. In a split second that seemed to last forever, Hikari's blade went right through Mebius's body, the blade coming out just below the warning light. Hikari and the others gasped when this happened, while Mebius grunted in pain. Dark Zenith let Mebius go, having the Warrior of Light slump off of the blade and to the ground. Hikari dropped to his knees, holding the limp form of Mebius in his arms as his warning light still flashed rapidly, matching his own. Then, Mebius's warning light died, as did his eyes.

"Mebius….Mebius….MEBIUS!" Hikari shouted, shaking the dead Ultra. Choking, he looked up at the Dark Ultra, his grief turned to rage. "You…you BASTARD!" dropping Mebius, Hikari swung wildly with his blade, hoping to land a blow on Dark Zenith. However, the other Ultra evaded the blows with ridiculous ease while Hikari kept up his wild assault. Then, Dark Zenith grabbed his blade arm, and held firm. With a great twist, a loud, sickening crack was head, followe by a piercing cry of pain from Hikari. Dark Zenith released the Ultra, as Hikari fell to his knees, cradling his shattered arm. Dark Zenith sent a kick right into his face, sending the blue Ultra skidding next to the limp form of Mebius. Painfully, Hikari lifted himself up, and looked at Mebius. He knew his only option was to get Mebius and tthen get the hell out of here. He crawled to Mebius's side, with Dark Zenith charging up his Dark Meganium. Hikari reached out for his fallen comrade, his hand just inches from reaching him when Dark Zenith was just half a moment from firing his attack. Just as Hikari laid a hand on Mebius, Dark Zenith fired his attack with shouting the phrase, feeling no need to.

"NO!" was all Krystal shouted from her arwing before everything was engulfed in a brilliant flash.

To be continued….


	41. Power of the Soul

Chapter 41

Power of the Soul

Dark Zenith unleashed his Dark Meganium Kousen at the prone Mebius and Hikari, while the Star Fox team watched in horror, and Claire watched in glee. "NO!" Krystal shouted. Then, a bright blue beam, nut unlike Zenith's Spacium Kousen, only more bolder, intercepted the black and gold beam, negating its energy and ensuring that it did not reach its destination. Then, when both beams had died, a crimson ball of light descended upon the battle-field that was once Corinthia City. The ball took shape, and a form that both parties recognized stood before them.

"It's Zoffy!" Slippy shouted. Indeed, the field commander of the Ultra Brothers and the Space Garrison Forces stood before the Dark Ultra, his fists planted on his waist. Then, he took up a combat stance, and both Ultras, Light and Dark, circled eachother. Then, they fought. Unlike Mebius and Hikari, Zoffy has more than one millenniums' worth of experience with him. He countered the Dark Ultra's attacks with apparent ease, and was pushing him back from the critically wounded Warriors of Light. Dark Zenith delivered a hay-maker, that Zoffy caught in his hand, and twisted the wrist, making the Dark Ultra fall to his knee with a grunt of pain. Then, Zoffy delivered a spin-kick, knocking the Dark Ultra away from him. Dark Zenith came back up from a shoulder roll, and sent two dark shredding-halos at him. However, Zoffy knocked these away with just his bare hands, and sent his M87 beam at him, then same attack that he used to counter his Dark Meganium Kousen. The bright blue beam connected with Dark Zenith's chest, right on the warning light, and sent him flying back with a yell. He landed upon the ground, writhing in apparent pain. He got back up, shakily, and was met with another beam, this one in the same place as before. The same thing happened, and he was sent flying into a ruined office building, sending the ruins crumbling to the ground with him. But he was not done yet; with a growl of effort and rage, Dark Zenith got to his feet, and got into his combat stance, with Zoffy doing the same. Then, both of them fired their respective finishers. Both dark and light beams connected, and fought for supremacy. In what seemed to be an eternity, both beams cancelled eachother out, and a great explosion erupted, knocking both warriors off of their feet. Both parties waited in anticipation. Both warriors kicked their feet out, and landed upon their feet. Then, they went at eachother again. Dark Zenith sent a cross Zoffy's way, which the Warrior of Light was able to evade by juking to the left, only to be met with a hook to the face, making him stumble back slightly. However, when Dark Zenith went for a well-placed upper cut, Zoffy dodged this too, and sent two quick jabs to his face, but he wasn't done there. Following Ultra Seven's example, he got into a boxer's stance, and threw punch after punch at Dark Zenith. The Warrior of Light assaulted the Dark Ultra, striking him repeatedly in the face and abdomen, before ending it with a solid cross to the face. The attack sent Dark Zenith to the ground in a heap. He rose to his feet painfully, and was met with a spin-kick that sent him flying, before landing upon the ground and skidding to a halt. He got up to a knee, his warning light flashing at a steady pace. He looked down quickly when he heard the chime, then looked back up. Zoffy prepared to fired his M87 beam, cross-shaped this time, and it impacted against the Dark Ultra, making him fall back with a groan of pain. Dark Zenith got up to a knee once more, but couldn't get up any more than that. Zoffy prepared his M87 beam, normal version, while saying "Gommenosai, Zenith-tai." He fired as Dark Zenith looked up. Dark Zenith brought up his arm as if to shield him from the attack, but the beam never connected. It stopped just mere inches from him, as if it hit an invisible wall of sorts before dying. Zoffy lowered his arms, shocked. Then, he heard the laughter that could only belong to one person. Claire's ship hovered in between the Dark Ultra and his former superior. "You!" Zoffy shouted, surprised.

"Surprised to see me, Zoffy? It has been quite a while, hasn't it. Say, about several thousand years by these people's time? Well, it was just before Father of Ultra had formed the Ultra Brothers and Space Garrison. I remember the good ol' days just fine, when it was just you and me."

"The people here know you as Claire, but I know that you go by another name, temptress. You were once a good, decent soul. How your soul was corrupted over night, even I shall never know."

"It got corrupted, because of _you_, Zoffy! You always cared more about what Father of Ultra wanted to give a damn about me and my needs! That's why I fell, and became what I am!" Claire shouted back. "Since then, I've only thought of you, until I happened across Gorzul, and gave me an offer I couldn't refuse. In return, he's let me have that strapping young warrior here, whose life was about to be untimely ended thanks to you, and let me start a race of my own."

"Have you completely gone insane over the last millennia? What are you going on about?"

"I struck a deal with the Dark Breed. I became one of them, in return to help them end the Ultra race. It was another offer that I couldn't refuse. Two for the price of one, I guess. I'll be taking him with me, thank you." Claire replied, Dark Zenith being levitated into the air by invisible means. Then, both of them flew up into the blue sky and into space, with the Star Fox team and Zoffy looking up after them, with the Warrior of Light's last words being "This is not the end, my former love."

Several hours later: Zoffy was standing on the command bridge of the Great Fox while Peppy, Slippy, and Falco tried to work at their stations, and not stare at the red and silver being that was in the middle of the room with his powerful arms folded across his chest. He noticed their attempts at not staring, and chuckled in amusement. "Does my appearance surprise you so?" he asked. Peppy answered.

"It's just we're not used to seeing an Ultra stand in the middle of our bridge like this, so…casual I suppose the word would be." Zoffy laughed again.

"I suppose you wouldn't. After all, the only time you ever see us like this is when we are in combat, isn't it?" he asked. Peppy nodded. It has been several hours since Mebius and Hikari have been tended to. Hikari has a shattered arm, but that will heal in no time. However, it's Mebius that he's currently worried about. Aside from receiving a serious injury to his chest, he ran almost completely out of power. It took an emergency transfusion from Zoffy just to bring him back from the dead. Even now, his life is in danger, despite his body healing itself. And then, there's Dark Zenith, Claire, and Gorzul. The threat that they pose to this reality, and others for that matter, is just far too great to ignore. Something must be done and soon. The only problem, is that he has no clue where to start looking for them. He knows that they jumped from this reality as soon as they had left orbit, but he doesn't know where they went. It would be foolish to send Warriors of Light to search every single reality for them. It'd be like stumbling around in the dark, while looking for a needle in a haystack. Serizawa came back onto the bridge, his arm still in its cast, and joined his superior. Zoffy acknowledged him, and looked back at the screen in front of him, showing the empty vastness of space before them.

"Sir, where do you think they are now?" Serizawa asked. Zoffy shrugged slightly.

"I don't know, Serizawa-tai. They jumped from this reality to another when they left orbit of Corneria. They could be in some other reality by now."

"Or, maybe they're still in this one."

"How so?"

"When they left, you automatically assume that they left this reality for another."

"Naturally, since they probably want to be as far away from us as possible."

"There is another way to counter that, as you are well aware, sir. They could be hiding in plain sight, and we won't even know it." Zoffy brooded this for a moment. Serizawa has a point. After all, certain denizens of the Ultraverse, like Baltan-Seijin and Guts-Seijin, have the ability to cloak their ships and themselves from all but the keenest of methods for detection, and this often included the Ultras themselves. However, if that were the case, then what would the best possible means for detecting them? Zoffy tried something; his glowing eyes flashed once, and his vision enhanced. To a person looking at him, it looked like his eyes glowed even brighter. However, this is him using the Ultra-vision that his race possesses. Using a combination of X-Ray, Thermal, and night-vision, he has the ability to detect virtually anything that normal scanning devices might miss. However, as he scanned the immediate area, he could see no disturbance whatsoever. "Let me try, sir. Perhaps together, we can find them."

"Of course, Serizawa-tai." Zoffy replied. Then, Serizawa's eyes just flashed for a moment, along with Zoffy's. All the while, the rest of the team stared at them. Serizawa and Zoffy had been conversing in their native languages, and the translators were down for the routine maintenance, so they were unable to understand them. However, when they saw their eyes flash, they couldn't help but look at the screen that they were so keenly watching like hawks. However, both of them slumped their shoulders in apparent defeat.

"It's no use, sir. We just can't seem to see it."

"We need Mebius for this. Perhaps with him aiding us, we might be able to penetrate their cloak, _if_ they are in the immediate vicinity." Zoffy replied. Serizawa nodded in agreement.

"I'll go check on Mirai, then, sir." With that, the ultra/human hybrid left the bridge, and headed for the medical bay. Zoffy turned back out to the screen, his focus entirely on that. He even began to think that he could feel something there, but shrugged it off as his mind playing tricks on him.

He was in a dark place. He couldn't see in front of him, and he didn't know where he was. All he knew, was that it was very dark, and cold. He looked this way and that, hoping to see some end to this darkness. However, everywhere he looked, it was the same everywhere. He tried to run, fearful that darkness will swallow him whole, if it has not already. But, no matter how hard he ran, the darkness would not end. He still ran, puffing hard as he did so, until he collapsed from fatigue after what seemed like an eternity of running. "Wh-where am I?" he asks shakily. "What…is this place?" He curls up into a ball, mostly from the chill he was feeling from the shadows that surrounded him. He held himself as he shivered. "Fox…Slippy…Falco…Peppy…Krystal…Where is everyone…" he rose up to his knees. "WHERE IS EVERYONE?" he yells. The dark does not answer. He felt hopelessness creep into his heart, and slumped his shoulders. He felt the tears threatening to blind his vision.

"I am here." a voice answers. He whirls, trying to find the source of the voice.

"Wh-who said that?" he asks, getting to his feet.

"I am here." it says again.

"Who is there?" he asks, louder this time. Then, an illumination lights up the darkness, and a form steps out of it. It is humanoid, with female looking curves. Then, he sees them; a tail from behind, and pointed ears on top. It walked to him, and he could see it in perfect clarity; it was a female wolf, walking on two legs, wearing a type of tribal dress with a brazier, loin-cloth going to her ankles, and a cloth going around her arms and shoulders. On her grey head, was a type of tiara with a red gem in the center. She was wearing a warm smile on her muzzle as her green eyes gazed upon him. "Wh-who are you?" he asks. The wolf laughs, amused, and answers.

"I am just like you." she replies.

"Just like…me?" he asks. He looks down at himself, and sees that he is dressed in a similar outfit, this one being a tunic with sandals, arm-braces, and a black belt around his waist. He looks up at the wolf-girl before him. "But…who are you, really?"

"I am known, to others, as Claire. But, from we are from, my name is Kebo."

"Ke…bo?" he asks, unsure.

"In our language, it means 'hope'." she replies, not taking her face off of him. She walks up to him, and when she was no more than five paces from him, she looks him up and down, still smiling. "I see that you haven't changed much, Zenith." she says, after looking at him. That is when Jim decided to look down t himself again, as if to see if anything really has changed recently. "You are wondering just what this place is, really." she says, as if reading his mind.

"Y-yes. I don't know, where we are. It seems familiar, but I can't seem to recall exactly."

"It is simple. This place serves as a reflection of yourself."

"A reflection…of myself…?" he asks, not fully grasping it.

"Exactly. This void serves to reflect what it is and was that you are feeling. Before, it was dark, and cold. It reflected the loneliness that you were feeling before. But then, it lit up, becoming light and warm, when I appeared. That is because, subconsciously, you remember me, and are now feeling relief and jovial that you are not really alone."

"But, I don't exactly feel really jovial. Relieved, yes, but not exactly jovial." Jim replies, smirking slightly. Kebo laughs in amusement, a sweet, almost melodious sound to his ears.

"Does that mean that you are not glad to see me?" she asks, giving him fake puppy-dog eyes and a mock-hurt sounding voice. Jim was quick to recover.

"Th-that's not what I meant. I just meant that…" she cut him off with more laughter, and embraced him, her fur warm against his skin. To him, it was softer than velvet. He held her body close to his as she held onto him. She pulled away, just enough to look up at him.

"You are just so cute when you get flustered like that." she says, looking up at his blushing face. She giggled, a girlish-sounding voice, and nuzzled him.

"Have we…met before?" he asks aloud.

"Of course. Remember, almost a year ago we met near Fortuna when…"

"Addleson found Sheja's remains. Then, he tried to clone me, to perfect the ultimate life form. Then, The Council of Light attacked the Lylat system, trying to bring back the dead human race that I…ended when I released Gorzul." He felt a pang of guilt when he said this, but Kebo held onto him tighter. "Then, I remember…" he gasps, and it struck him. "YOU!" he shouts, shoving her away from him. "You did this to me! You killed me!" he nearly yells. "I remember, in General Pepper's office. You attacked him, and…her…" the name rung in his head, and his stare hardened. "Krystal…You did this to me, just to turn me into your slave!" he shouted. Kebo's smile vanished. "It won't work on me, Dark Breed. Whatever it is that you have planned, you will not possess me!" he shouts. Then, Kebo chuckled, and her muzzle held a very amused smile.

"'Will not possess you'? My dear, I already have."

"Wh-what?" Jim asked, unable to grasp what she had said. Kebo raised an arm, and a portal next to her opened. In it, were the events that had happened a few hours ago, when Dark Zenith had attacked Corinthia, and injured both Mebius and Hikari, just before engaging Zoffy. All the while, a look of horror and shock began to unfold on the Ultra's face. The portal faded, and Jim slumped to his knees. "You…" he said, almost under his breath.

"I know it's hard at first to accept, but I'm afraid that it's true. You did attack, and possibly kill Mebius. No one in that reality, or possibly any reality for that matter, will trust you again." she says, matter-of-factly. Jim looked up, hate burning in his eyes and heart. "You're only hope, is to accept the situation that you are in, and join me. Together, we will shape the Ultraverse, and all the other universes, into our own image. Certainly more profitable than with that blue-furred tramp that you like to hang around with." Jim's ears twitched when he heard her speak about Krystal like that. "You actually thought that you had a chance with her? She's not like you, or me. You're better off with me, again, in that regard. I'm from the Ultraverse, same as you. It's really no contest. Jim rose to his feet, anger burning inside of him.

"You…bitch!" he shouts, and lunges at him. Then, he stops in mid-air, and is flung back to the 'ground'. He gets back up, and runs at her again.

"You must be joking," Kebo says, all humor gone from her voice. She raises an arm, and Jim freezes in his tracks. He can't move, or speak. All he can do, is listen. Kebo walks up next to him, and whispers into his ear. "You could have had it all, if only you accept my offer. All you have to do, is to bring these lower life-forms to their knees for Gorzul, and then you could have anything you want." She smiles, and does something that Jim didn't expect; her form changes to that of the blue-furred vixen Krystal. "I could even become her, if that will make you happy. All you have to do, is accept my offer." the fake-Krystal says, smiling sweetly. It was even using her voice and accent. Jim looked at the fake, and was almost tempted by her offer. But, he saw it for the fake it really was, and replied.

"I am…an Ultraman…" Kebo pulls away, as Jim looks at her, despite the restraint that she has him in. "That…is a title…given to those who have sworn…to protect those who are unable to protect themselves." With each passing moment, the bonds around him are lessening, until he can speak coherently. "The ones who have that title are given certain responsibilities that they must adhere to no matter what." He was able to move freely, and kept his steady glare with Kebo. "I was given those responsibilities, because I was seen as one with the ability to protect people, and uphold justice. I was given the mission to protect this reality from abominations like you!" His form was glowing crimson as he said this, as if her were about to transform. Kebo, however, kept her face stoic.

"So be it, Ultraman." With a wave of her hand, the light once more became an endless darkness. Jim looked around himself, but was unafraid this time, even when Kebo's voice echoed throughout the dark void.

"I never really needed your soul, anyway. The only reason why I bothered with the offer, is so that way you can at least be in possession of your body to carry out our plan. Certainly better than having your soul rot away in the Dark Realm. All I really needed was your body, but I was not lying when I said that I truly liked you. Because of that, my offer will remain open, indefinitely. All you have to do, is accept me, embrace me, and you will be free from this prison."

"No I won't, Kebo. I'll just be your slave, no matter what. I'd rather waste away here, than be your lap-dog for the rest of eternity."

"You'll change your mind. I guarantee it." Kebo's voice answered.

"We'll see, Kebo. Krystal is close to regaining her full memory. All she needs is one more fragment, and her true potential will awaken. There's no way for you to stop her, Dark Breed. Do you hear, no way!" he shouts back into the void. However, he gets no reply. All he can do now is wait, and hope.

Great Fox: Krystal was in her room, going over everything that had happened within the past few hours. However, one thing that stuck out, was the fact that Zoffy and Claire seemed to have known eachother. They were conversing in Japanese, their native language, but she was able to understand it. She even recalls Zoffy calling her his 'former love'. She wondered what was going on between them, and decided to find Zoffy to find out. She headed for the medical room, and found Serizawa there, standing next to Mirai's body. There has been little change in his condition, but at least that meant that he was stable. Serizawa turned at the sound of the door opening, And saw the cerulean vixen enter. He turned back to Mirai. "Have you seen Zoffy around?" she asks.

"I think he's in the command bridge, why?"

"I need to ask him something." she turned to leave.

"Is it about Claire?" he asked. Krystal froze, and turned. Serizawa had not moved, but kept his gaze on Mebius.

"What do you know about Claire? Who is she, really?" Krystal asked. Serizawa sighed.

"Since it is you that Zenith is closest to, you of all people should know." he turned to face the vixen. "What Claire had told you, about her being a Dark Breed, is only half-true."

"How so?" Krystal asked. Serizawa took a seat next to Mirai's side, with Krystal taking the seat facing him. Serizawa sighed, and spoke.

"Before the Garrison was formed, Zoffy was a well known warrior, and a bit impetuous at that. This is before he wised up, but, it took a heart-breaking event for him to realize that."

"How do you mean?" Krystal asked.

"Claire, or rather, Kebo as she was really known as, was not really a Dark Breed to start out with."

"She…wasn't?"

"No. She belonged to a race that was like the Ultras, but different as well."

"Different? How different?"

"There exists a race that is like us, mostly energy with slightly corporeal bodies. However, unlike us, they came to be through evolution, not by artificial means. They knew about our kind, and wanted to know more bout us. That's where Kebo comes into this. She was sent as a sort of ambassador to us. She came to the Land of Light, and found that it was almost like her own home-world. Then, she met Zoffy. Like kindred spirits, they took to eachother instantly. Over the next few months that Kebo was with us, she and Zoffy started to see more and more of eachother. There was even rumors that they had…uhm…been more intimate with eachother." Krystal nodded, taking it all in. "However, all that changed, almost instantly, when that fateful day had happened."

"What fateful day?" she asked. Serizawa held his head for a moment before continuing.

"It was during a confrontation between our race, and the Dark Breed, when we fought them for the first time. We won that fight, but Zoffy, he…"

"What is it?"

"When he saw the devastation that the Dark Breed had left, he made it his responsibility to bring them down, no matter what. Because of that, in the months that followed, he spent less and less attention on Kebo. He was even gone for weeks, if not at least a month, at a time. Kebo became embittered by this, and left the Land of Light. I don't really know exactly what happened between them, only that when they had met later, Kebo had fallen to the Dark Breed. She lost her soul, and became one of them. And not just one of them; she struck a deal with their ruler. She would help bring the Ultra race down, if she could get her vengeance on Zoffy. Fortunately, we were able to seal Gorzul away before this had happened, but she's been waiting for several years or more to bring him back."

"So she's been waiting for…" she stopped herself as she heard that name. "Did you say Gorzul?" she asked. Serizawa looked at her.

"Yes. Gorzul is the leader of the Dark Breed. You didn't know that?" he asked, raising an eyebrow. Krystal blinked, then looked down. It all made sense, as Claire's words rung in her ears; 'You still don't know who's behind this, do you?' 'So, that's how it is. Gorzul was the leader of the Dark Breed, and when he was sealed by the Ultras, she became their new leader, plotting to bring him back. So that's what she meant by 'planning for a long time','

"So now that Gorzul is back, what now? He has been here for God knows how long, doesn't that mean that Claire is their new leader?"

"It did, but she always did say that her loyalties to Gorzul came first before anything else."

"That's not what it sounded like when she spoke to me."

"How so?" Serizawa asked.

"She said that she was going to use Zenith to start a new race, after doing away with the Ultras. But, how would she accomplish this without Gorzul getting in the way?"

"More than likely, she either planned to seal Gorzul back up and take the reigns, or just kill him out-right. Either way, sounds like she doesn't plan on being his toy for very long." Krystal nodded, and looked out of the viewport. The scene was that of the empty blackness of space, specked with stars.

"The question now is, where are they?"

"Or rather, where and when will they appear?" Serizawa replied. Krystal looked at the Ultra/human, then back out the viewport. On the command bridge, Zoffy seemed as immovable as ever, never taking his gaze off of the screen. Falco, still working on his console turned to Peppy and motioned for him to come near. The elder hare did that, and leaned in to listen to the falcon. "That guy standing there is really startin' to weird me out. How long is he going to just stand there like a friggin' statue?" he asked in a hushed whisper.

"I don't know, Falco. I couldn't tell you." With that, the hare went back to his console, and back to work. Falco sighed, and did the same. Meanwhile, Zoffy did nothing except stare out the view screen, searching for something, while his mask-like face betrayed no emotion. Krystal was headed back to her room, when she heard the familiar chittering. She turned, and to her surprise, she saw one of the Krazoa Spirits floating in front of her. Then, she was surrounded by all six of them. Before she could ask what was going on, they entered her, one by one, and she blacked out. When the cerulean vixen opened her eyes again, she found herself in the blue void once more, and she was not alone; standing before her, was a Krazoa Spirit in a robe. It looked at her with the impassive expression that it was well known for as Krystal got her bearings. Then, in an echoing voice, it spoke.

"You, who hold the Power of the Soul, it is now time for you to fully awaken."

"I thought I had already awakened." she replied. The Krazoa Spirit shook its large head.

"No. You have not yet regained your memory. There is still a fragment waiting for you, on Corneria."

"Corneria?" she asked. The Krazoa nodded.

"There, it is inside of a person that you know. After all, you saw her take in the memory some time ago." Krystal's mind flashed back to when she and Jim had been to Corneria when Fox confiscated his Brace. Then, to the time When Faye and Miyu had taken them into their home, following to when the same white-furred collie had come into contact with Sheja's pendant.

"Faye. When she touched the pendant, she must have…"

"She suffers from nightmares of the day when the world, as you knew it from your childhood, had ended. That is the final piece of your memory."

"But I already have that memory. Gorzul came, and sent Doragon, and destroyed my village!" Krystal nearly shouted, remembering the painful day.

"That is only part of it."

"Wh-what?"

"Gorzul was not really the one who devastated your world. He had influenced it, but his was not the hand that ended it. That remains unknown to you. Only when you have your full memory, will you become who it was that you were meant to be." The Krazoa faded away, as did the blue void, and Krystal returned to reality. At that point, she knew what she had to do. Breaking into a sprint, the blue-furred vixen bolted down the hallway, to the hangar, her mind set on one thing; to get Jim back, no matter what.

Corneria City: In her flat, Faye was flipping through the channels on the T.V., finding nothing on. Miyu was out getting supplies. She asked the white collie if she wanted to join, and amazingly, she refused. Miyu wondered if something was wrong with her friend, but she assured her that she was just tired. Slightly concerned, Miyu left her friend alone. However, the nightmare of last night still haunted her. She can't remember exactly what it was that frightened her, but she does know that it was something hauntingly familiar. Unable to focus, she turned the T.V. off, and held her head in her white-furred paws. 'God, why is this happening to me? What is this that's plaguing me?' There was a knock at her door, and she rose up to answer it. Wearing her t-shirt and shorts, the collie answered the door, and was surprised to see Krystal standing in her doorway. "Krystal, what are you doing here?" The vixen was clad in her blue flight suit, wearing an unsure expression.

"May I come in?" she asked. Faye stepped out of her way, and Krystal stepped in, headed for the couch. Faye joined her.

"Is there anything wrong?" the collie asked.

"Well…you remember what happened to Zenith?"

"You mean…Jim really has turned evil?" Faye asked, not wanting to believe it.

"No. He's being manipulated like a machine. I think I may be able to free him, but…I need your help."

"How can I help?" Faye tilted her head to one side, confused.

"This…may sound a little strange, but do you remember when Jim and I were here last?"

"Yes."

"Remember when you found out he was not entirely…normal?"

"How can I forget?" the collie replied, wearing a somewhat pained look. "Why?"

"The pendant. The pendant that you touched, it had something very important in it. Jim was…I guess you could say 'downloading' it when you barged in on him. When you touched it, you might have accidentally downloaded the final piece of it." Faye took this in, and was understanding it.

"That would explain a lot, actually." she says, remembering how she touched the pendant, and felt the sensation of electricity entering her brain. She told Krystal about the nightmares that she has been having for the past month. How she sees a planet get devastated by an alien armada, and that the scene shifts to someone sitting on a command chair, someone that she knows that she has seen before, but cannot remember who it was. Krystal took this in, and offered her a possible solution. "Wait, you're going to _download_ this from _my_ mind?" she asked. Krystal nodded.

"I know it sounds strange, to say the least, but normally it's rather painless. All you'd feel is a slight tickle." the vixen assured her, albeit she was rather unsure herself. In theory, her theory, it would be painless, but the problem is that she hasn't tried it on anyone, and no one seemed to be interested in being a test subject. She placed her hands on both sides of the collie's face, and closed her eyes. Faye did likewise, and braced herself. The Cerinian, as gently as she could, searched the Collie's mind for anything that looked like it could be the memory fragment. She remembered her saying that she was suffering from nightmares, and decided probe her subconscious. Only problem was, the subconscious mind was harder to navigate than the conscious mind. Applying a little more effort, She sorted through, until she believed she found it; whatever it was, it was dark, and had a hint of, what she could describe later as, fear. She looked into it, and sure enough, it had the descriptions that Faye had given her. She found the memory fragment, now she just had to download it. This is where the tricky part came in; going through someone's mind was one thing, and quite another to 'download' information from it. Faye felt a sensation in the back of her head, like someone lightly dragging a feather along the back of her cerebellum. Then, it sharpened somewhat, making her wince slightly. Krystal tightened her grip on Faye's head, while furrowing her brow in concentration. After what seemed like forever, Krystal opened her eyes, and released Faye's head. The collie grabbed her head quickly, getting over the side-effects of the sudden memory-download.

"Man, that was weird." she says, looking at the blue-furred vixen sitting next to her. She seemed to have a far away look about her, as if seeing something that wasn't really there. "Uhh, Krystal?" Faye asked, waving a hand in front of the vixen's face. She didn't respond, and Faye tried shaking her, with the same result. Krystal just continued to stare out as the memory took hold of her. However, in an instant, she snapped her head back with a sudden jerk, and her eyes went wide, as if from shock, then her head hung limply from her shoulders, her emeralds closed. Faye watched the spectacle, unable to do anything else, in shock mixed with fear. Then, Krystal groaned, and lifted her head up. Her expression was one waking from a deep sleep. She turned to Faye, her eyes bleary.

"How long have I been out?" she asked, sounding groggy.

"About five minutes, maybe?" Faye replied. Krystal shook her head and stood up, headed for the door. "Uhm, Krys?" The vixen stopped, and turned. "Are you sure…you're okay?" Faye asked. Krystal smiled.

"I'll be just fine." she replied, and left. Krystal entered her fighter that was situated not far from there, and went over the memory fragment that she received. However, if it was true, then the almost everything that they had faced thus far would pale in comparison to who was coming. All she was wondering, is how General Pepper got mixed up in this.

Unknown part of Space: "The time has come, Claire. Send Dark Zenith out again, and this time, I want you to aid him in his endeavors." Gorzul said, seated upon its throne. The female lupine and Dark Ultra kneeled next to him. Jim was still clad in his uniform, but his eyes glowed a dark violet, same as Claire's did. Both of them looked up, and nodded. Claire got up, followed by Dark Zenith, and went through the large doorway. Orbiting the planet Corneria, the Dark Ultra in his full fourty meter height, flanked by Claire's ship, descended upon Corneria City. Both made no attempt to conceal themselves. Why would they? They were going to bring the planet to its knees anyway. The Dark Ultra landed in the middle of the city, kicking up a large cloud of dust as he bent his knees to absorb the impact better. The sudden surprise of the black and silver giant made people look up in surprise, and then fear when they saw Dark Zenith for themselves. A ship floated above him by several hundred meters, its occupant deciding to change things up a bit. "Time for a change of scenery. Something more…appropriate to the coming disaster." Her eyes glowed, and then, her entire body glowed violet. Then, she flew from the ship, and into the air. From below, the people could see a purple glowing shape floating just above Dark Zenith, who merely stood there like a statue. Claire, still glowing, raised her arms to the sky. Immediately, the sky darkened with heavy clouds, lightning dancing in between them. Lylat was blotted out, casting the whole city into near darkness. Dark Zenith looked up slightly, as if he just noticed the floating thing above him. Lightning danced all around him, striking the ground and buildings, destroying everything as they went. The lightning bolts cracked buildings open and destroyed them like they were made of Styrofoam, sending rubble and debris down upon the hapless populace. All the while, Dark Zenith stood like a mountain, immovable and completely invulnerable. Then, Claire descended to the ground, the glow around her swelling as she did so. When it landed, the glow rivaled Dark Zenith in size, while inside, a horrible transformation was taking place. Two long appendages, looking like the legs of some giant spider, came out and struck the ground, while tail-like thing grew out of another end, sliding onto the ground and going back and forth of its own will. Two long arms with massive clawed hands came down, followed by legs of equal length and clawed digits on each foot. The glow subsided, and a large, muscular body with what looked like folded, large bat-like wings along its back came into view. It reared upon its long, muscular legs, stretching its wings to their full length. The wingspan itself was easily twice the thing in height. The long arms nearly touched the ground when it stood up, and the insect-like appendages were folded up in the body, waiting to be used. The head was seen, and looked like something from a madman's nightmare; it looked like a misshapen dog or wolf's head, elongated and fangs protruding where they shouldn't be, the glowing eyes burning with hatred. The tail lashed out at everything that moved or didn't move, destroying all that made contact with it. Long and reptilian, the appendage was truly a thing top fear, as was the rest of the abomination that looked over the people. It issued a shriek to the clouded heavens, sounding like the devil itself from the pits of Hell. Dark Zenith looked at the newly transformed Kebo, seeming to regard it for a moment. Then, it looked down at the people who were fleeing from it

"_**People of Corneria!" **_it spoke in a booming, echoing voice that caught everyone's attention. They stopped running, and looked at the horrible thing before them. _**"The time has come! We have descended upon you to rule over your planet, and your system. We have waited many years for this moment, when we could leave our world, and come to this one! You are so harmless, and filled with fear, that you are no match for us. Even Zenith, who has been protecting you all this time, fell before our influence. He is now my soldier of destruction, and me his master! Soon, others like me will join me from my realm, and turn this system, and this universe, into a world of pure darkness, with you serving us at our every whim!" **_Kebo let out another shriek to the heavens, then fired a violet beam from her maw, destroying several city blocks in the process. That was his cue; Dark Zenith raised his arms, and fired his own Dark beam at the structures before him, leveling them to the ground. Both of them strolled through the city, destroying everything in their way. The military was dispatched, but were dealt with in mere seconds. The Cornerian Fighter Squadron was destroyed by Kebo, while the Landmaster Tank Battalion was dealt with Dark Zenith. Both monsters rampaged through the city streets like they owned it. And, to all those concerned, they did. The Star Fox team received the call, and after piercing the Dark Storm, they were in time to catch Kebo's declaration of conquest. It was only after the military had failed utterly that the team attacked. However, they were short on fighter; Krystal had yet to return to them. However, that would change, for three other fighters entered the fray. Krystal in her arwing, while being flanked by _both_ Faye and Miyu in their Interceptor-class arwings.

"Faye, Miyu!" Fox shouted.

"Good to see you, Fox-boy." Miyu said, grinning. Faye grinned as well while Krystal took her place among her teammates.

"Krystal, were ya been?" Fox asked.

"Fox, everyone, listen to me. I think I may have a way to get Jim back on our side."

"Well, don't keep us in suspense, Krys. How do we do that?" Falco asked.

"Just leave it to me. I need you to distract that thing for me, in order to get to Jim."

"You mean that ugly thing down there?" Slippy asked, pointing at a rampaging Kebo.

"Exactly. She's what's controlling him."

"'She'? That thing down there is a 'she'?" Falco asked.

"If you need a distraction, Krystal, consider it done!" Fox said. The broke off apart, and the three arwings plus Interceptor-class arwings assaulted Kebo, while Krystal flew directly towards the Dark Ultra. Fox, Slippy, and Falco harassed Kebo from the front, firing charged shots directly at her face. She screamed in displeasure, and tried to swat them down with her massive claws, only to have the nimble craft expertly evade them. Meanwhile, Faye and Miyu attacked its flank, sending smart and nova bombs at it in a fury while watching the explosions blossom from its back. To their satisfaction, a large, bloody gash ran from the base of the long neck to the middle of the back, bleeding a sickly dark green ichor.

"Alright, we got her!" Faye shouted enthusiastically. Even Miyu had to grin at her own handiwork. However, Kebo would not be brought down so easily; amazingly, the wound started to heal itself. It started with the flesh rippling, then seeming to come to life as it literally folded over the wound, covering it up and stretching back to normal. In seconds all the damage that they had done had vanished. "No way…that's not fair!" Faye shouted. The Star Fox team was not having much luck either. Every cut and gash they made healed themselves in the exact same fashion. Kebo laughed in triumph.

"_**Do you really think that your pathetic little toys are a match for me? You cannot even begin to harm me. My body heals itself in mere moments, while my own strength remains uncompromised. You little vermin have no idea the kind of Hell I can unleash upon you!" **_With that said, Kebo opened her maw, and fired her Dark beam at the three arwings. It didn't hit them, but it didn't really need to; it passed by dangerously close, and the machines felt the effects of the attack, with systems going haywire and out of control. The team struggled to bring the fighters back under control, but were nose-diving for the ground below. They had no choice but to eject. Three arwings crashed and burned, and three pilots escaped with their lives, but barely and not for much longer. After setting down, the team pulled out their side arms, but wondered what measly looking toy guns would do against that thing.

Another part of the city: Krystal flew directly at Dark Zenith, who failed to take notice of her. However, when she was no more then a few meters from him, he whirled and fired his Dark beam at her. Krystal expertly evaded the attack, but Dark Zenith was relentless, dragging the beam all over the place in vain attempts to get rid of the insignificant insect that buzzed around him. "Jim, listen to me! It's Krystal! You don't want to do this! Look at what you're doing!" But her words fell on deaf ears as the Dark Ultra continued to fire at her. She tried to reach him with telepathy, but all she felt was nothing more than emptiness. It was as if Jim's physical body were here, but his spiritual body was not. Then, it hit her. Since Kebo was a Dark Breed, that would mean that she did to Jim's soul what the previous Dark Breed did to Fox, send him to another realm, a Dark realm. If that were so, then how could she possibly bring him back? She felt the hopelessness of the situation, when she heard a familiar voice.

"Don't give up, Krystal-chan!" she gasped when she heard the voice, and recognized it straight away.

"Mirai?" she asked. On board the Great Fox, which had also passed through the Dark Storm, Mirai was standing next to Serizawa, his arm no longer in a cast, and Zoffy, with Peppy and ROB 64 at the helm of the Great Fox. Mirai was wearing the same outfit when he first met the Star Fox team.

"You got it!" Mirai replied, grinning broadly with Serizawa doing the same. "We are going to use our collective will to restrain Zenith. It will not last forever, so you had better hurry with whatever it is that you have planned."

"Your collective…will?" Krystal asked.

"Just trust us, and try to bring Zenith nii-san back to us." Mirai said.

"Right!" the cerulean vixen replied. On the Great Fox, the three Warriors of Light brought up their arms to their chests, meeting at the wrists and forming an 'X', hands closed into fists. Their eyes were closed in concentration, their brows furrowed. On the ground, something happened; Dark Zenith was slowing down, even stopping dead in his tracks. He just stood there like a stone, like he has done so often.

"Hurry, you don't have much time. Even now, our will is starting to lose hold." Mirai said with a strain. Krystal nodded. Then, she focused on Dark Zenith. Somehow, she knew what to do, like an instinct. She flew her arwing directly at the towering Dark giant, and closed her eyes. She felt the energy within her well up, like it did when she encountered Claire for the second time. When she opened her eyes, they were glowing sapphire this time, and her expression softened. Then, her form glowed, and her arwing stopped just in front of the Dark Ultra. He was starting to move again, but she knew it didn't matter.

"_Jim!"_ she shouted in an echoing voice. Just then, the glow around her increased, and she became a living luminescence. She felt herself shoot out of the arwing, and into Dark Zenith's warning light. From the outside, it looked like a bright blue beam of light fired itself out of Krystal's arwing and into Zenith's warning light. It struck him, and it forced him back a step, he grunted in surprise and groaned in apparent pain while raising his arms up as he took in Krystal's essence. When it was finished, there was a flash from his warning light, and Zenith being flung to the ground, as if he were knocked down by a powerful blow. The Star Fox team and Kebo saw this. Dark Zenith raised a hand to the sky, as if to reach for something, then with a heavy sigh, his arm fell limply to the ground.

She was in the Dark realm. Nothing existed here, nothing but ghosts, and the ever present darkness that seemed to threaten to swallow her very being. However, her luminescence kept the darkness at bay as she walked through the void. She looked all around her, but the darkness was adamant, unyielding in anything that might be a clue to where Jim might be in this place. So, she relied on her senses to guide her through the endless shadow world.

He was alone, that much he can feel. He waited, hoped, prayed that she would be successful in finding her missing memory. But, with each passing moment, he starts to lose more and more heart. Jim ceased trying to find his own way out of here. If there was a way for him to escape, he would have done so by now. However, since he was only a spirit without his powers as an Ultra, he felt helpless. Then, it catches his eye; at first he thought it was his mind playing tricks on him, but then it became more and more clear. A blue glow was making his way to him. Slowly, of course, but heading right for him. He walked in its direction, the glow becoming more and more brighter, and he could see something in the center of it as he got closer. It was humanoid, from the look of it, sporting female curves and even a tail and pointed ears. That's when he stopped. 'Think you'll get the drop on me again, eh Kebo? Well, think again.' Jim thinks. "That's far enough Kebo. I told you once before that I have no interest in playing a hand in Armageddon!" he shouts at the coming figure. The glow was getting brighter all the time. "I'm telling you, not another step Dark Breed!" Jim warned. Still the figure did not halt. Then, he saw her; in the center of the blue light, was the very same person that he was hoping he would see. Krystal walked towards him with a smile on her face. Jim smiled as well, but then remembered the Kebo had tried this trick before. "How do I know…that you're the real deal?" he asked. For an answer, she moved up to him, and placed a kiss on his cheek. It felt warm, not like last time. Last time, it didn't feel real, but this time, it did. Krystal continued to smile at him.

"Does that feel real?" she asked, still smiling. Jim blushed for a moment, then turned away, the redness still on his face. She giggled, a girlish-sounding voice, and placed her hand in hers. "Come on, everyone is waiting for you."

"Even if we did get out of here, then what?" he asked.

"What kind of question is that?" Krystal asked, amused. "We fight Claire, and then everything will work out."

"No, it won't." Jim said. Krystal dropped her amused smile, replaced with concern. "Everything won't just 'work out', Krystal." He looked at her, guilt and pain in his eyes. "I killed people. I murdered innocent people, and maybe even Mebius, along with hurting Hikari. I'll still be hounded by the Ultras, because of the fact that I turned! And even if they didn't, no one would ever trust me again!" he nearly shouted. "'Work out'…how can it possibly work out?" he had tears forming in his eyes as he spoke, and the vixen can feel the pain he was going through. In response, Krystal embraced him, holding him tightly against herself. Jim felt the tightness around him, but didn't, or couldn't, return the gesture.

"Mebius is alive…" she said, her muzzle next to his ear.

"Wh-what?" Jim was surprised by this.

"Mebius is still alive. It was him, Hikari, and even Zoffy who allowed me to come to you like this. What he said, was for me to bring you back." he pulled away to look him in the face. "And that is precisely what I'm going to do, regardless what everyone else thinks. They know that it wasn't you who did this, but rather Claire, who possessed your body. They want me to bring you back, as does Fox, Falco, Slippy, Peppy, everyone. We all want you back." Jim looked at the vixen for a moment, unable to say anything. "So come on. Let's go home, shall we?" she asked, holding out her hand to him after taking a few steps back. The light grew ever brighter as Jim took it in his own hand.

Corneria City: The Dark Storm was still over the ruined city. Kebo, in her Dark Breed form, strode over to where the limp form of Dark Zenith laid. Meanwhile, Fox ordered three new arwings to the spot that they were at. In an instant, the fighters materialized, and the team hopped in and floated over to the two giants. Krystal's arwing still hovered on autopilot in front of Dark Zenith's body, waiting for its occupant to return. Neither party had to wait long; Dark Zenith's body began to glow a soothing, golden light. Then, three pulses of light went up his body along the black design on his silvery form. However, as the light passed them, the onyx became a bright crimson. Then, the light went to his warning light, and when the three pulses entered it, the warning light flashed three times, and became a shining blue, and Zenith's eyes went from crimson to shining yellow again. Everyone who saw the transformation were rooted where they were. Then, he stood up. His red and silver design glinting in the dancing lightning, Ultraman Zenith stood up once more, and faced the very thing that had turned him into a puppet. Everyone who saw this couldn't help but smile broadly, and laugh out loud. Faye and Miyu smiled broadly, while Slippy cheered and Fox and Falco had wide grins, while Peppy, Serizawa, and Mirai had smiles of their own. The only ones who didn't smile, were Zoffy, since he was in his Ultra form, and Kebo, who felt a burning rage at this point.

"_**Impossible! You shouldn't be able to return from the Dark Realm!"**_ she screeched. She opened her maw, and fired her Dark Beam. Instead of evading it, Jim took a stance, and bent his left arm up at the waist, his fist almost level with his chin. The beam struck the arm, but did no damage. In fact, it seemed to be absorbed into the arm. That's when Zenith spoke.

"**I was able to return by those who do not lose hope. Your power is as wounded against that kind of strength. There's no way you can win!" **When the Dark Beam had died, a bright glow enveloped Zenith's left fore arm. He brought up his other arm, and brought both limbs down to his right side, only to throw both of them out with a shout, and launch the attack he had been building up from the Dark energy. The ball of light struck Kebo in her chest, and was enveloped in an explosion of fire and light. When it died down, she was down to a knee, and looked up, hatred burning in her animalistic eyes.

"_**Hope…don't make me laugh!"**_ She stood up, and screeched at the newly revived Warrior of Light. _**"I am invincible! I will not lose to a worthless bastard like you!" **_Zenith took up a combat stance as the Dark Breed bore down on him, and rushed to meet her head on. Both opponents grappled with eachother, each trying to get the upper hand on the other, but failing. Then, Kebo struck out with one of her massive claws, and sent the Warrior of light rolling away. However, he came back up, and ran at the Dark Breed again. He sent a flying kick her way, connecting with her chest and making her stumble back in surprise. Then, Zenith grabbed her misshapen head, and sent two over head chops to her cranium, placing her in a head-lock. Kebo countered this by sweeping Zenith's legs out from under him. Zenith rolled out of the way as Kebo tried to place her massive foot down on him, and stood back up. Kebo swung out with her arm, but Zenith blocked it just in time, and felt struck from behind by the other claw and was sent rolling to her side. Zenith came up behind Kebo, who tried to swat him with her large tail. However, the Warrior of Light caught the massive appendage with both arms, and held on, keeping her in place. However, Kebo swung herself, bodily, around and flung Zenith off of her tail. When he was finally stopped by a building, he looked up, and saw Kebo bore down on him. However, she was stopped by a hail of laser fire from the Star Fox team and the Faye/Miyu pair. The green and blue bolts lanced across her flanks and ground, making her stop in surprise as the five fighters flew in between them. Zenith saluted them, and assaulted Kebo anew. However, it was Falco who noticed something;

"Hey guys, where's Krystal at?" he asked. Indeed, Krystal's arwing had not budged since she entered Zenith's body.

'Then, does that mean that…' Fox thought.

Inside the White void: They stood there, side by side and holding each other's hand. Jim and Krystal saw the beastly form of Kebo quite clearly as they were standing in the warm glow of the White void, the same realm that made up Zenith's body. Both of them were inside, and both were fighting together. Jim looked at Krystal, who kept her concentration on Kebo, remembering what had happened;

Five minutes ago: He reappeared in the void once more, and was readying himself for the confrontation between himself and Kebo. Then, he felt a hand touch his and turned, surprised to see Krystal standing there. "Krystal, what are you doing here?" he asked, his voice having a slight echoing effect to it.

"I'm not going to let you fight her alone. We will fight together."

"We can, with you in your arwing, and me taking her on in hand to hand."

"No, Jim." she replied, shaking her head. "I was meant for this as well. We were meant to fight together like this. That's what it meant for the 'Might of the Sun and Power of the Soul to come together.'" Krystal had a smile on her muzzle as she said this. "This is what we were meant for, my love." Jim was taken aback when she said this, and couldn't say anything. Krystal smiled warmly, and nuzzled next to him.

Present: As Zenith attacked Kebo, the Dark Breed raised both arms up to bring them down upon the Warrior of Light, but Zenith blocked them, and both grappled eachother again. Then, that's when she saw them; she peered into Zenith's glowing eyes, and saw Jim and Krystal standing next to eachother. _**"So, that's how it happened." **_she said, more to herself. _**"That little bitch brought you back to this reality. She has finally awakened as what she was truly meant to be."**_ Kebo chuckled at this revelation. _**"It doesn't change the fact, that I am going to crush you under my heel!"**_

"**We'll see about that, Kebo!"** Zenith shouted. He sent a side-kick to her ribs that effectively made her grunt in apparent pain. However, Kebo was far from done; The spider-like appendages sprang from the sides of her body, and did something that the Warrior of Light did not expect; they morphed into silver lobster-like claws. The claws opened, and both fired an energy ball at the Warrior of Light, sending him flying into an office building. In the White void, Krystal grunted in pain while Jim winced slightly. He turned to see Krystal clutch at her abdomen and pant slightly.

"Are you alright?" he asks.

"Y-yes, I'll be fine." she replied, Jim looked back, and willed himself to get back up. Zenith got up, and took a combat stance once more. Kebo fired the shots off again, and Zenith effectively dodged them. Then, the claws morphed into something else; one became larger, with razor-like claws on each digit, while the other became a single hook, with a flap of brown flesh coming down the arm. The tail turned black in color, with multi-colored feathers on the tip, and really thick. On her shoulders, her wings disappeared, and were replaced with what looked like heads. One was saurian in nature, with large teeth and fangs, a curved horn on the head, and glowing red eyes set in the black face, while the other was insect-like, with large mandibles that reached past her large shoulder, and white eyes that swiveled independently on short stalks. The chest also grew a face, and it's one that Jim recognized instantly, as did with the other new body parts that seemed to spring on Kebo from out of nowhere. The face on the chest was brown, with what looked like red jewels for eyes, and on top of the head and directly beneath it, as well as directly beneath the eyes at a diagonal angle.

"It…can't be…" Jim said, disbelief in his voice.

"What is it?" Krystal asked.

"I know that face on its chest. It's Knackle-Seijin's."

"You mean, an alien from the Ultraverse?" she asked. Jim nodded. Then, he can see them more clearly, the parts from Bemstar, Baltan-Seijin, Nosferu, Black King, Antlar, even Geronimon. Kebo chuckled as she heard the conversation between Jim and Krystal.

"_**Don't think of me as your run-of-the-mill Kaiju, dearies. I'm in a class all of my own!" **_Then, Kebo lashed out with her hooked Bemstar's claw, as well as Nosferu's, with Zenith evading it, but came upon Geronimon's tail. The feathers at the tip of the tail launched themselves, and pierced Zenith's armored hide. Both Jim and Krystal grunted in pain from the attack done to Jim's Ultra-self, clutching at their chests, while Zenith got knocked back by the tail. Zenith recovered, and took up a battle stance. However, Kebo fired Black King's and Knackle-Seijin's energy blasts, as well as Bemstar's horn beam from the hook on her arm, Baltan's claw blasts from the appendages on her sides, and a weakened version of the Darkness Beam from her maw. All of this assaulted the Warrior of Light, and explosions blossomed from where he was hit. He fell to a knee, then to his hands, panting heavily. Inside of him, Krystal and Jim were no better off, doing nearly the same thing that Zenith was doing.

"How is she…able to do…that…" Krystal gasped.

"She probably, has the attributes of several denizens from the Ultraverse. She must have absorbed them before coming here, knowing that she would be forced to implement them. A few creatures are known to do this." Jim replied.

"So, she prepared herself before going into battle." Krystal stated, getting to her feet.

"That's the idea." Jim replied, doing the same. Both of them drew in deep breaths, and focused. Zenith did likewise, his warning light flashing steadily.

"But, how can we combat something like that?" she asked. For an answer, Jim didn't have one. Then, a voice came to them.

"Don't give up yet, you two!" Jim recognized it, as did Krystal.

"Zoffy?" Jim asked. In the Great Fox, Zoffy nodded.

"Zenith, or should I say Jim, you were given this assignment, based on the fact that you are stronger than you realize. You can use that strength, that Light within you, to defeat that abomination. Your powers are far greater than hers. Trust me." Jim nodded, and focused again. Zenith got back into his combat stance, and tensed himself. Kebo lumbered towards him, and that's when Zenith made his move; the Warrior of Light ran at the Dark Breed, with Jim's voice echoing.

"This assignment was handed down to me, because I was seen as someone who could best protect this reality. Well, one way, or another, I will prove that!" Just as Kebo fired her Dark Beam, Zenith leaped straight up into the air, the beam missing him by a country mile. Zenith charged up his Meganium Kousen, and fired. The golden beam struck against Kebo's body, and several explosions blossomed before she fell to the ground. Zenith landed behind her, and with a mighty shriek, Kebo exploded into a giant fireball, sending debris every which-way. Then, the clouds parted, and Lylat once more shone down upon Corneria City. The people came out of hiding, and looked up at the red and silver being who had just saved them from oblivion. It was small, at first, then it became audible. The people were cheering. Zenith looked down, and saw them. They were actually cheering for him. Jim saw this, and felt more than a little chocked up. Krystal turned, and smiled at him, taking his hand into hers. Jim turned, and return her smile. Zenith looked down, and nodded at them. Suddenly, his body began to glow, and became a shimmering shower of gold, blowing away as if on a breeze. Fox and co. looked this way and that, worried.

"Don't worry, McCloud-kun." Mirai's voice said in the lupine's head.

"Mirai?" he asked, looking around.

"Zenith and Krystal shall return accordingly. You may come back to the Great Fox." Zoffy's voice said. It had the ring of authority to it, one that Fox could not mistake. He smiled to himself.

"Guys, we're going home." he said into his intercom system.

"But, what about Jim and Krystal?" Slippy asked. Fox kept his smile.

"Don't worry, Slip. They'll be along shortly." he replied. The five ships headed for the Great Fox. On the ground, just outside of the city, Jim and Krystal stood on a hill, over looking Corneria City. They had each others' hand, and had a slight smile on.

"Looks like you got what it is that wanted after all." Krystal said, looking up at Jim. The human nodded.

"Yeah. The people finally see Zenith as a hero at last. All it took was an act of redemption, I suppose."

"Or maybe, they see _you_ as the hero." Jim gave her a funny look, as Krystal went on. "The public may not know just yet who you truly are, but to the Star Fox team, Faye, Miyu, Mirai, Serizawa, Zoffy, and me, _you_ are the hero here." Krystal kept that smile as Jim looked back out at the city, his smile a bit more broad this time.


	42. Gorzul Revealed

Chapter 42

Gorzul Revealed

Unknown part of Space: Gorzul sat upon its throne, news of Claire's Kebo's defeat having reached its ears. Even though she was only his tool, she was its best lieutenant, not to mention had been keeping the Dark Breed in check while it was lying dormant in this God-forsaken reality for God knows how long. Then, it was revived and made contact with..._him._ The same person whose own ambitions for the Lylat system became his own, due to the faulty contract that he had made with him. He cursed the day that he had made that deal, just as he cursed all those who stood in the way of his ambitions, especially a certain vulpine. Even though Zenith has been the main thorn in his side, he does not forget the times when he was foiled by Star Fox team. Just then, he felt it. His head felt like it was on fire, and he clutched it, screaming in maddened pain. "No…it can't be…not now…I won't let you…take control from me…again…" The, Gorzul slumped to the ground, silent for several tense moments. He stood up again, and laughed in a voice that was not his.

"I think it's time for me to pay some old friends a visit."

Corneria, near the space docks: It has already been several hours since the defeat of Kebo, and the supposed aversion of the future that she had promised of the Lylat falling into the hands of the Dark Breed, and Zenith turning back to the Light, no longer being a Dark Ultra, as she had made him. On board the Great Fox, which was moored in the space port of Corneria City, Zoffy was debriefing Mebius, Hikari, and Zenith. "Even though Kebo has been defeated, the threat that Gorzul poses still remains. These are your orders; Mebius, Hikari, you are to remain here in the Lylat system to aid Zenith, and hopefully locate him before he strikes again. I will head back to the Land of Light, and try to convince Father of Ultra to send all available Garrison Members, and the Ultra Brothers, to this reality. I have a feeling that we are going to need all the help that we can get. Understood?" Zoffy asked. The three Ultras stood at attention, and saluted, shouting "Ryokai!" Zoffy returned the salute, and left the command bridge. The rest of the team was there, including the pair Faye and Miyu, although they had no idea what they were talking about, since they were speaking in the native language of M78. Then, Zoffy turned into a ball of red light, and their superior flew out of the ship through the ceiling, passing through it as if it were not there, and into space. The three Garrison Members turned to eachother, and nodded. Words were exchanged between them, and Mirai and Serizawa did the same thing that Zoffy did; became shimmering balls of light, and left the ship.

"Where are they going?" Slippy asked. Jim turned to them, a slight smile on his face.

"To find Gorzul." he replied. The team and co. looked at eachother, then back to Jim. He still kept that smile as he left the command bridge, and headed for his quarters, leaving a rather perplexed team behind. As soon as Jim entered and closed his door, a knock came. Jim already knew who it was, and bid Krystal to enter. She did so, and saw Jim going over his laptop, which was hooked to the internet. Over the time that he has been with the team, the Ultra/human was able to access the System Wide Web of Lylat, accessing the internet, with the help of Slippy and ROB of course. He brought up a map of the Lylat system, and input the data where the sightings of Kaiju, Seijin, and other such phenomena had occurred. All within the vicinity of the system, particularly around Corneria. Jim wondered why that was, and was entertaining a theory he had developed. Krystal stood over his shoulder, watching him work. "What are you doing?" she asked. Jim never turned from his screen.

"It is unlikely that Mebius and Hikari will find Gorzul. They will be searching far and wide for him."

"Do you know where he is, then?" the vixen asked.

"I have an idea, but I'm not yet ready to voice my opinion just yet, not until I have more concrete evidence." He continued to type away on his laptop, as Krystal watched from his shoulder. She wanted to ask him. Now was as good as time as any, before something happened that would tear them away from eachother, like what Claire did.

"Jim, can I ask you something?"

"Shoot." Jim said, not turning from his screen. Krystal took a deep breath, and said it.

"What do you remember about Cerinia?" Jim froze when she spoke. The question had caught him off guard, and he was hoping that she would not catch on that his memory of his time on Cerinia had been returning to him. However, since she also regained her memory, it would have been pointless to hide it from her. He sighed heavily, and faced her. She had a serious look on her, and Jim feared the worst.

"No more than you, I'm afraid, If we share the same memories." Jim said, rather sadly.

"I knew it." the vixen said, almost under her breath. "You _have _been to Cerinia! Why didn't you tell me?" she nearly shouted. There was so much that she wanted to ask him, what he was doing there, how he got there.

"How can you tell someone, that you have been to the same planet that suffered a terrible fate. I was afraid that…you might blame me for the fate of Cerinia." He looked up, his expression of guilt unchanging.

"How can I blame you? You think that everything bad that has happened is because of you." she said, shaking her head.

"It's true, isn't it?" he nearly shouted himself. "I was there, to begin training as an Ultra warrior. Then, Gorzul attacked, trying to kill me, stop me from being a threat to him, like I am now. He wanted me, to kill me. It's always been about _me!_" he said, feeling frustration boil over. "He has targeted me, and he wants me dead in the worst way. How can it _not_ be my fault?" Krystal lost her serious expression, and softened a bit.

"It's not just you he's after, you know." Jim looked up, puzzled. "It was me, too. If you remember correctly, 80 took me as well, and put me on Sauria, where I was looked after by Xetulu. Then, after I regained my memories, I wanted to know, whether or not you had as well Jim, or should I say…Aaron." she said, a hint of a smile at the name 'Aaron'. Jim smiled himself in a nostalgic way.

"Aaron. That's a name that I have not heard in a long time." he said, leaning back in his chair. "As a kid, that's the name I wanted to be called, made me seem more grown up." he laughed as he said this. "Now, using my middle name seems…childish."

"Not to me." Krystal said, grinning. Jim laughed slightly as she said this. He looked up at her.

"Neither does the name 'Dia'." he said. Krystal laughed a bit. Krystal smiled sheepishly.

"A name that I have not heard myself." she replied. "What else do you remember?"

"That's about it. Other than 80 getting us out of Cerinia before Gorzul destroyed it, that's about it." Krystal lost her smile.

"Is that it?" she asked. Jim gave her a weird look.

"'What do you mean 'Is that it?' What else could there possibly be?"

"Because, It wasn't exactly Gorzul who devastated Cerinia."

"What?"

"Gorzul may have influenced, and that was his monster that attacked my village, but the armada was not his."

"Armada? What armada?"

"You don't remember, do you?" she asked.

"Remember what?" he asked.

"It might be easier if I showed you." Krystal placed her hands on both sides of the Ultra/human's face, and closed her eyes, when she opened them again, her eyes were glowing sapphire, as when she entered Dark Zenith's body to bring Jim back from the Dark realm. Then, Jim's mind was filled with images, as Krystal's voice echoed through. The scene was one of space, where a young Jim and Krystal, inside Ultraman 80's Travel sphere, were looking upon the planet Cerinia. That's when the ships came into view. "When we left Cerinia, an armada appeared to finish the job. What you are seeing, is just when we were about to leave the system." Then, the image closed up on the lead ship, and Jim saw something that made the hair on the back of his neck stand up. The front of the ship had a simian visage on it, one with pointed ears, and sideburns. Jim knew that only one simian at the time had the resources and manpower to build an armada, but had to be sure.

"What else can you show me?" he asked. Krystal's voice echoed again.

"This." with that, the image changed to that of a figure sitting upon the command seat of the flag-ship. A figure that Jim recognized all too well, and soon felt that his suspicions were correct. He had suspected that this person were behind it, ever since he saw that armada that assaulted the Lylat system, the same one that Mebius and Hikari had helped in defeating. The ships and fighters were too similar to the past ones to be coincidental. Then, there was the time when the armada fled to Venom when they were attacked by said Warriors of Light. The figure sitting on the command chair simply cements his belief. Then, the scene changed to that of space once more, and the travel sphere leaving the system at greater than light speeds. That's when Jim's quarters came back into view. Krystal took her hands off of the sides of his face, and Jim looked up at him.

"Krystal, you just convinced me." he said.

"Convinced you of what?" she asked.

"Of what I thought all along." He got up, and was headed for the door, followed closely by the vixen. He headed out of the ship, and was headed for the CACC.

"Where are you going?" Krystal asked. Jim turned to her, still walking.

"Claire was at the CACC for a reason. She was there to kill General Pepper. We need to know exactly why. Something doesn't add up. Gorzul wanted him dead, because he knew something. Now, we need to know exactly what it was."

"And so you shall." a voice said. He looked, and saw a wizened blood-hound wearing a red uniform and cap with white gloves, with an armed escort following him. Jim felt his breath catch, and thought that maybe his luck was turning finally. General Pepper smiled knowingly as Jim did. "So, what is it that you wanted to know?" Jim kept his smile.

"Tell me, about Andross."

Great Fox, at that time: Fox was in his quarters, talking to Fara. Her vulpine face filled the screen. "Fox, when do you think you'll be able to pay us a visit? Cody's been asking about you." Fox let himself smile a bit.

"I can imagine. Tell him that I'll be there soon."

"Soon, to him, means 'the day after never' you know." the fennec said, smiling herself. Fox laughed a bit.

"He'll just have to be patient. How is he, by the way?"

"Fine. Wishes he could see you more, though."

"Who doesn't?" Fox asked. Fara laughed a bit, a tinkling sound. An incoming call rung on his speakers, and the caller I.D. tolled him that it was General Pepper himself. "Sorry Fara, but I have to take this."

"Remember, you said soon." the fennec said, before signing off. Then, he put the general's call on, and was surprised to see Jim's face fill the screen.

"Jim?" Fox asked.

"Who do you think?" the Ultra/human asked, smiling.

"I thought I was getting a call from General Pepper." he said.

"You are." another voice said. Fox recognized it right away.

"General Pepper?" he asked. The screen shifted from Jim, to the blood-hound in question, wearing a knowing smile. In his office, General Pepper sat in his chair, while Jim and Krystal stood in front of his desk. "Fox, the reason why I'm calling you like this, is because Jim and Krystal found some info on Gorzul that I think you might find interesting." General Pepper turned the screen over to face Krystal and Jim. It was the vixen who spoke first.

"As you know, Fox, Andross was banished from Corneria by General Pepper when his experiments went out of hand. However, how did he survive on Venom's surface?"

"He came in contact with the native Venomians, and rallied them together into his personal army." Fox answered. Jim shook his head.

"Think about it. Would he really just go to the Venomians on a whim, and just try to lead them. Even if he did promise them the Lylat System, they would have probably killed him on the spot. No, he had something that made them _fear_ him, like he was the devil himself."

"Okay, how?" Fox asked. Jim explained.

"After his fight with Sheja, Gorzul must have been severely weakened. Even absorbing all the human souls in the Lylat System was not enough to heal him. After destroying the last civilization, he must have fallen dormant on Venom, where he was found by Andross. _That's_ how he was able to survive on Venom, _that's_ how he rallied the Venomians, and _that's_ also why he seems to come back after you kill him. He literally signed a deal with the Devil." Fox leaned back, and took it all in. The same person who had taken away his mother and father, who had devastated the Lylat System, and had captured Krystal to use as a conduit for the Krazoa Spirits to revive himself, and made his life a living hell, was _still_ seeming to make his life ever harder. He sighed, and placed his thumb and forefinger on the bridge of his nose while shutting his eyes.

'Why? Why does he _still_ continue to trouble us?' he asks himself. "So, the reason why he keeps coming back, is because he really _is_ immortal?"

"Well, only immortal to a certain extent." Jim replied. "Remember, he tried to use Krystal to revive himself. His power that he received from Gorzul must have its limits, not to mention Gorzul itself."

"How do you mean?"

"When Gorzul makes a deal with someone, what happens is that it possesses that person. However, in its weakened state, Gorzul must have been overwhelmed by Andross's ambition for taking the Lylat System, that Andross was able to partially regain control. Gorzul then became a part of Andross, with Andross' psyche winning out some of the time. That's why he's so intent on taking the system. He's finishing what he started all these years ago, starting with me."

"Why you? If it's Andross, then he should be after me, not you." Fox said.

"Because I'm the biggest threat to him right now, and Gorzul seems to be fighting Andross's influence over it. It probably won't be very long until Andross is fully absorbed by Gorzul, and the thing that I unleashed is finally back at full force."

"Okay, that's enough of the history lesson. The real question is, where is Gorzul?"

"I think I have a rough idea." Jim was about to explain more, but the transmission got cut off, and the lights inside of the general's office went out. The trio looked around in surprise, with General Pepper standing up in a hurry. However, it was outside that caught their attention; a Dark Storm was brewing, the thunder clouds forming overhead like when Claire/Kebo unleashed her own power. It was then that both Jim and Krystal realized it; Gorzul had come to Corneria. "I knew it." Jim muttered under his breath. Krystal looked to him, but Jim kept his focus solely on the Dark storm forming above the city. Then, a booming laughter filled the air, and spoke.

"_**People of Corneria, the time has come for you to accept your new master! Once before, you have driven me away from my rightful place. But, that has now changed! I have become stronger, my power magnified beyond belief! All that is left, is for me to remove the only obstacle in my way! I challenge the entity known as Zenith! I challenge him to single combat, and I will crush him like the insect that he is in the palm of my hand!" **_Next to Krystal, there was a brilliant flash of crimson light, and the vixen looked next to her in time to see a red orb of luminescence fly out of the view, and float over the middle of the city. Then, the orb became Ultraman Zenith, in his full fourty meter height, floating over Corneria City.

"**I accept your challenge, Gorzul! Why don't you show yourself, instead of hiding like a coward?" **the red and silver Ultra answered back. Another laugh filled the air before answering.

"_**Of course! What fun would it be, if you died without seeing the face of your killer?"**_ Krystal recognized the voice at once, and saw a cloaked figure descend from the Dark Storm, lightning shooting across the clouds as if to herald his coming. He floated in front of the Ultra as lightning danced around them in a macabre of light and booming thunder. However, despite the thunder and lightning, no rain fell. The two figures circled eachother in the air, floating only several meters away from eachother. It was Zenith who broke the stalemate.

"**Why don't you show us your true face Gorzul?"** Gorzul seemed taken aback by that statement, since he stopped circling and merely hovered in the air. Then, after several tense moments, Gorzul descended to the ground, and landed upon the city street, his cloak sweeping over vehicles and buildings. Zenith landed as well, facing the cloaked figure, who chuckled.

"_**Hm hm hm. You wish to see my face? Very well, I shall show you all who I am." **_The sleeved arms reach up for the hood of the cloak, revealing hands that had gray hair on them. Then, he pulled the hood back, and the people finally saw who it was that had been tormenting them this whole time, who had been calling monsters and invaders from another dimension to hurt and kill people, and who had declared war on the Lylat System; the face of Andross himself revealed itself as the hood fell back, his simian face gaunt and aged, looking like a living corpse more than anything else. His dark green eyes focused on Zenith, a gleam in them that promised pain unto him. Then, he threw his head back, and laughed into the clouds above in apparent triumph. Zenith had one question for him when he was done laughing.

"**Tell me, are you Andross, or Gorzul right now?"** Andross laughed, and spoke.

"_**I am both. When I found Gorzul on Venom, it was severely drained of energy. When I made a contract with it, it bonded to me, body and soul, and tried to take me over. However, I was able to win out, and then I bent the native Venomians to my will, worshipping me like a god! And why not? I do hold divine power, after all."**_

"**That's not divine power that you have, Andross. That power is one that will eventually consume you totally. Even now, Gorzul fights to be free of your influence. It has succeeded occasionally, but you always seem to regain control. I wonder how long that will last?"**

"_**True, that Gorzul does fight me. After McCloud defeated me at Sauria, Gorzul was able to regain control, and set about to getting its plans in motion. The sole reason why I didn't bother to take back control until recently, is because Gorzul planned what I wanted all along; taking possession of the Lylat System. However, Gorzul's grip on me has been waning, and I finally gathered enough strength to take back control for this confrontation! I know about you, Ultraman Zenith. Gorzul's memories about you are quite vivid! I really should thank you. If it wasn't for you, I would never have been able to gain ultimate power." **_Andross laughed heartily at this as the Warrior of Light continued to stare him down. Lightning continued to dance about them, while Thunder played its booming melody to the brilliant light show, with still no rain to be seen, felt or smelled. Krystal stood rooted at the view, while General Pepper stood right behind her, taking in the sight that he had hoped he would never see in this, or any, lifetime. The vixen looked upon the face of the same person who had not only devastated her home planet, but also took her prisoner in hopes of using her to bring himself back to life. Now, she sees the same man, if he can be called that, standing as tall as a colossus before her childhood friend, one whom she didn't even remember until a short time ago, and didn't even meet again insomuch earlier. For her, it was all like some twisted nightmare that she could not wake up from. On the Great Fox, the whole Star Fox team watched the spectacle on the main monitor. All of them could not believe that Andross was standing before them, right here and now. However, the mad simian conversing with the red and silver Ultra was proof enough. Fox clenched his fists that, if not for his gloves, his palms would be bleeding right now. He turned to face his team.

"Alright, people. Let's gear up, and back Jim up! This time, we're going to send that ape packing right where he belongs!" The team agreed with him wholeheartedly, and made their way to the hangar. The three arwings, piloted by Fox, Falco, and Slippy flew out of the hangar, and towards the center of the city while lightning danced around them. Andross felt their presence, and turned around to see them coming. He grinned evilly as the three ships flew past him, and hovered on either side of Zenith. The Ultra looked at them, and nodded.

_**Hello, McCloud. Long time, no see."**_Andross said, still wearing that grin.

"Not long enough, Andross! How many times do I have to kill you, before you get the idea that you're not wanted here?" the red vulpine nearly shouted. Andross laughed heartily at this, taking it as a great joke.

"_**And how long will it take **_**you**_** to realize, that no matter how many times you 'kill' me, I am a god! I have gained the ultimate power, and command the power of an entire universe!"**_

"**You're no god, Andross! You're just a sick old man with delusions of grandeur!" **Zenith replied.

"_**Oh, I'm not sick any more, not when I hold the key to the Dark Realm, and every single Dark Breed that it holds."**_

Zenith stiffened when he heard this, and Andross noticed.

"_**Oh yes. When I bonded with Gorzul, I gained certain knowledge about things. Including how to manipulate the Dark Breed, and the fabric of space and time, to create what you call, 'the Gate Way'."**_

"**What? So, you can command the Gate Way all by yourself, then?"** Zenith asked.Andross chuckled and went on.

"_**Exactly. It was I who originally sent that Dark Breed to possess Fox, before Gorzul could take control from me again. However, I was present there to see you become the very thing that it fears, and decided to use that against it. Its fear of you made it weak, and allowed me to take control shortly before coming here. When I did gain control, I activated a beacon, that will allow me to bring any number of Dark Breed here that I wish. Added with the knowledge on how to manipulate the Gate Way, I figured it was high time that I stepped in and took over. And I'll start, by killing you all, to repay my old debts!" **_That's when he noticed it. There were only three arwings here, the female member of the team was not present. _**"Where is she?" **_he asked, a growl in his voice.

"**Where's who?" **Zenith asked.

"_**Don't play dumb, you little pissant! The girl! Where is Krystal? I want her to be present when I swallow her soul." **_Andross replied. Then, another arwing flew up from behind Zenith, taking its place among its fellows. Zenith looked behind him, and the rest of the team saw the occupant inside and smiled. The cerulean vixen inside smiled at her friends as well, then focused on Andross. The simian chuckled, and went on.

"_**I see you finally decided to join us, child. It has been awhile since last we met."**_

"Like Fox, it hasn't been nearly long enough for me!" the vixen replied, letting anger show through. The simian laughed.

"_**Still the same feisty girl that I remember from Sauria. Ah yes, I remember how close I was to eradicating half of Gorzul's worries." **_Krystal raised an eyebrow when she heard him say this.

"_**Yes, Gorzul also knew about you. It was, in fact, **_**it**_** that told me to head for that backwater little planet of yours, and raze it to the ground. I didn't destroy it completely, seeing it as a waste of time since neither you, nor your giant boyfriend were there, nor was it a significant part in my own plans." **_Andross spread his sleeved arms apart, as if to embrace something while speaking. _**"You should be thankful that I am merciful. Your own family might still be alive, and you might not know it. If you were to survive this day, you could leave and find out. Not that it would do you any good in the long run, since I will soon rule that world as well as all worlds in this reality, and in all the others!"**_ Andross laughed again in triumph.

"**I won't let that happen!" **Just then, Zenith's Spacium Kousen was fired at Andross, who barely evaded the deadly beam of blue/white energy. The beam singed Andross's cloak, but did no real damage to the simian himself. He cast an angry glare at the red and silver Warrior of Light, who still held his firing stance, before getting into his battle stance.

"_**You'll pay for that!" **_Andross sneered, and discarded the cloak, which revealed a type of battle armor underneath. It was golden on the shoulders and upper chest, with jewels and spikes adorning it, while the rest of it was completely black as midnight. Andross curled his lips back in anger. _**"You'll all pay! I'll send all of you to the Hell that I will create!"**_ Then, he lunged at the red and silver Ultra, who cartwheeled out of the way of his flying kick. Zenith recovered, and blocked the punch that was thrown by Andross. Zenith kicked him in the ribs, making him stumble back, and left him open for an assault from the Star Fox team, who let loose a maelstrom of laser fire and smart/Nova bombs upon his person. Andross was quick to recover, and fired upon the arwings with his own Darkness beam fired from his hand. The arwings nimbly evaded the attack, and Andross got struck from behind as Zenith flew at him with a tackle that sent both of them through several buildings at once. Zenith came up on top of Andross, and began to beat his face in with his fists ruthlessly. However, Andross caught his fists in his own, and applied pressure to them. There was a crunching sound, and Zenith yelled in pain as he tried to pull away, with Zenith throwing the Warrior of Light off of him. He went through more skyscrapers, and tried to rise, but was forced down by Andross's heel to his face. The simian looked down, smiling with evil glee. _**"This is where I uphold my end of the bargain to Gorzul, Warrior of Light. Pity that you won't be around to watch your friends suffer. Especially to what I'll do to that pretty little girl. Oh, yes. I think I'll start by finishing what I started with her, by draining her of her life, slowly until she begs for death."**_ As Andross said this, Zenith felt a rage build up from within. He grabbed the simian's ankle, and put as much pressure as he could onto it, and rolled over, forcing Andross to the ground. Then, Zenith dragged him to his feet, and started to rain down blow after blow on him. The Ultra kicked him in the face, making Andross fall back. Then, Zenith mounted him, and started to beat the life out of the ape. Punch after punch, he rained down each strike until his fists came away bloodied from his face. The Star Fox team watched in shock at the scene as Zenith brutally punished Andross. Never, had he felt so enraged in his life, than by this ape before him. Soon, Andross stopped struggling, and Zenith stopped his abuse. He looked down at the bloody mess that is Andross's face, panting heavily. He looked at his hands, Andross's blood staining the silveryness of them. He got up, lightning dancing in the clouds and throwing light in an eerie way. He turned to his friends, who were rooted to the spot, the lightning continuing to dance about them. Then, in one of the flashes, Andross rose up, his arm wound up behind him.

"Jim, watch out!" Fox shouted. Zenith turned, just in time for the team to see a blade-like protrusion pierce through his back. Zenith gave a pained grunt, while Andross, his face starting to heal in seconds, wore an evil grin.

"NO!" was all Krystal shouted as Zenith slumped off of the blade. The blade itself was actually Andross's hand, the fingers fused together and elongated to form the weapon. The blade re-morphed back into his hand, while the mad simian laughed.

"_**As you can see, Gorzul has given me certain abilities when we fused. Some of them are the morphing, that you've already seen, and the healing factor as well." **_he said, gesturing to his face, which had nary a scar nor any type of marring to it. He looked upon Zenith's body, his grin glued onto his face. The red and silver Ultra groaned on the ground, looking up at Andross while light-blood seeped from his wound. Andross reached down, and lifted the Ultra up, his feet not touching the ground. _**"This is where I end you, boy. Too bad that you won't be around to witness me rebuild my glorious empire from the ground up. Don't worry though. I decided to alter my plans a little bit. Would you like to hear it, while you still last? I'm sure that you'll find it quite amusing." **_Andross leaned in close, and whispered into Zenith's ear. _**"I don't plan on killing Krystal. Death, would merely be a release for her. Instead, I'll make her into my own little toy, for me to with as I wish. She will bear my heirs, who will rule over the other realities in my name, and we will stand in the ashes of you precious Land of Light, together while our children remake it into our own image."**_ Through thier__rapport, Krystal heard every word that the mad ape spoke, and felt an involuntary wave of revulsion wrack her body. Then, Andross cast his eyes to the vixen, and smiled in evil delight that made Krystal shudder from it. Then, he turned to Zenith, whose grip on his was starting to weaken. However, he gathered his strength for one final attempt; the Ultra shoved his arm under Andross's, making the ape loosen his grip a bit. Zenith's feet touched the ground, and the Ultra grabbed him. Then, he placed Andross between himself and the Star Fox team.

"**Do it! Don't worry about me!" **As Andross struggled against Zenith's death-grip, The Ultra's light-blood seeped out even more. The team was shocked to do anything; their own teammate just asked them to kill him. There was no way that they could do it.

"_**Let me go! Let me go!"**_ Andross shouted. However, even though Zenith was losing life fast, he would not release his grip on the mad ape. However, his friends would not act.

"**What are you doing?"** he asked. **"You're team Star Fox. This is…this is you're mission!"** In the team's mind, the memories that they shared with him, from the time that they first met to now, flashed through them, especially in Krystal. However, it was Fox who acted first. He shot his arwing forward, and fired upon Andross with everything he had, launching his charged shots and all the novas he was packing. Then, he was followed by the rest of the team, and the hurricane of ordinance showered both forms until a cloud of dust and smoke rose up. Then, a form dropped to the ground from the cloud. They couldn't see who it was, but hoped it was Andross. However, they were shocked to see that the ape was still standing, and Zenith lying down before him, face-down. The ape turned to face them, hatred burning in his eyes.

"_**You meddlesome pricks will pay for that…"**_ he growled. He raised his arms up, and a purple aura, lightning dancing around his form as though he turned into a living lightning rod. _**"YOU WILL ALL PAY! FACE OBLIVION TOGETHER!"**_ With that, he fired the electrical energy he had been storing up as a dark electrical beam that made its way to the three arwings. The team braced themselves for the blast, but something amazing happened; another beam of energy intercepted the Dark electric beam, canceling it out. Then, a bright white light landed between the Arwings and Andross, becoming a form that the Star Fox team knew; Ultraman Hayata was kneeling before them, but then stood up to face Andross, standing straight up like an imposing statue. The red and silver Warrior of Light stared down the mad ape while Andross had his jaw drop at the sudden turn of events.

"Andross, surrender now, and give up Gorzul. Otherwise, I will be forced to execute you." Hayata threatened. Andross finally found his voice as he pointed at the Ultra.

"_**You expect me to submit to you? Don't make me laugh!"**_ Andross fired his Dark beam at Hayata, but the Warrior of Light brought up his Light barrier, the beam being intercepted by the shimmering wall. Hayata lowered the barrier, and fired his Spacium Kousen at Andross, who lunged into the air, avoiding it. Hayata looked up, and fired his beam again, only to have Andross avoid this one as well. That's when Zenith tried to get back up. He succeeded in raising himself by his arms, but fell back down with a heavy thud and a groan. Hayata took notice of this, and ran to his wounded son's side. He knelt down, and saw the ugly tear in his back.

"Zenith, don't try to move." Hayata said plainly. He placed both hands on his son's back, and light flowed into the cut that was made by Gorzul. Then, the tear healed itself, and Zenith was able to stand once more. He got up to a knee, meeting his father's gaze.

"**Father. How did you…"**

"Commander Zoffy sent me when he saw you fighting with Andross. I wish that I could have been here sooner." the elder replies, looking down.

"**Father…"** Hayata chuckled a bit when he heard that.

"Please, don't call me that. I don't have the right anymore to call you my son. I lost that, when Gorzul tore you away from M78. You were raised on Earth, by a human family after fusing with a human baby." He looked up to look into Zenith's shining eyes. "All I wanted was to raise you into the person that you are now, into the fine young warrior that I see before me. But, Gorzul stole that when he was accidentally released from his prison. If only I had destroyed on M78, like I should have, none of this would have happened."

"_**But alas, you did not!"**_ Andross's voice boomed above them. Both Ultras looked up, and saw the mad ape floating above them, arms folded across his chest. _**"You did not, because you lacked the necessary power to do so! Why? Because you were not chosen, despite having been thought so by a foolish Cerinian!"**_ Zenith looked to Hayata, hoping for an explanation, as did the Star Fox team.

"**Father, what's he talking about?"**Hayata looked at Zenith, and answered.

"The sole reason why I was unable to defeat Gorzul, was because I was not chosen to be the 'One with the Might of the Sun', even though I was told so."

"**Told so by who?" **Hayata pointed at Krystal's arwing.

"Her father."

"**What?"** Zenith asked, unable to believe his ears.

"Many years before you were born, we Ultras already knew the threat that Gorzul and the Dark Breed represented if they were not dealt with immediately. However, there was one thing that kept us from striking the death blow unto them."

"**What was that?"**

"The prophecy…" Krystal said, guiding her arwing forward to the two Ultras. "The prophecy foretelling the ones who bore the Might of the Sun and Power of the Soul who would vanquish the Dark Breed. That's what kept you from defeating them. Only those two have the power to smite them."

"Exactly. It was also at that time, that your father, Krystal, made contact with us."

"What? My father…contacted you?" she asked.

"Yes. However, I don't mean Randorn, the Cerinian who raised you."

"Then, who do you mean?" she asked. That's when another voice answered for her.

"_He meant the one who taught you how to survive." _The Ultras turned to face the direction of the voice, while Krystal spun her arwing around, and gasped when she saw who it was. Xetulu, the same Cerinian who raised her on Sauria, was floating in front of them. Clad in the same outfit he had always worn, he had a slight smile on his vulpine features. _"I have put this off for too long for me to tell you. The reason why I hid everything from you, is because I didn't want you to hate me for everything that had happened." he explained, his voice having an echo._

"Hate…you…?" Krystal asked.

"_Shortly before you were born, I was given a vision, that foretold the downfall of the Cerinian race, and all races across the endless reaches of this universe, and countless others. I saw the Dark Breed, and other malevolent forces at work, and saw the helpless get devoured by them. However, I also saw something else; a Cerinian, and an Ultra together. They shined like the brightest sun, driving away the darkness till only the light remained. I thought it was me in that vision, me and someone else. At that time, I had no idea who or what an Ultra was, but I knew for certain that the other was a Cerinian. At that time, my wife Neera, your mother, was carrying you. When I found out, I was both happy, and afraid. Happy that I will become a father, and afraid because of what the vision told me. I promised myself, that I would do everything in my power to protect you. So, by using the Warp Stone on Sauria, I was able to warp into the Cross Roads. It was there that, guided by the Krazoa Spirits themselves, that I found myself in the universe that the Ultra reside in. And, That's where I met Hayata." _Xetulu gestured to the red and silver Warrior of Light before him. Krystal turned back to her father. _"I told him of the vision that I had, and strangely enough, he also told me something similar to what I had. That the forces of Darkness shall reign over all, and that only two beings have a chance of stopping them."_

"I believed that the other was an Ultra, like myself. And so, we agreed to stop this evil together before it could accomplish its goal of conquest." Hayata filled in. "However, when Xetulu returned to Cerinia to be with his wife for the birth of his daughter, Gorzul struck. It attacked several solar systems, before coming to the Land of Light itself. I was able to trap it there, hoping to do away with it later. However, I was unable to contact Xetulu. I had no idea where he was, or how to reach him. So, I waited and prayed that nothing would happen until we can dispose of it properly."

"_However, it was at that time that I became trapped in the Cross Roads by the Dark Breed. On my way to Cerinia, Gorzul knew of my intentions, and decided hold me prisoner. I left Neera instructions that, should I not return on an appointed date, that Randorn will look after her. I never expected them to fall in love, but she must have thought that I was dead, and who could blame her? I was away for several years, long enough for Krystal to be born and integrated into Randorn's own family. I was finally able to return home, but I found much has changed. Krystal was already six years old, and was the daughter of Neera and Randorn, along with her older sister Rena. So, I fled that planet, and lived out on Sauria as a hermit, forgetting the vision I had after hearing from Hayata that Gorzul had been contained. At that time, I thought that the crisis had been averted. However, when Andross destroyed Cerinia, I knew that Gorzul had a hand in it. It was then that the Ultra 80 brought the young girl to me, her memory repressed from the incident. It was then that I raised her to be a warrior, and to be one of the chosen. I knew then that the prophecy did not mean myself or Hayata."_

"It meant for you, and Krystal." Hayata put in. The pair looked at the Ultra, as Hayata looked Zenith. If he were able to, he would have remorse showing on his face. However, another voice boomed, one that the group had not hoped to hear.

"_**I'll personally make sure that won't happen! As we speak, the entire Dark Breed race is now coming into the Lylat System. They'll be at Corneria in but a few moments! Why don't you spend your last few moments of life together, as a family?" **_Andross's laughter boomed across the sky as he floated above them. Then, he flew out into space, with the Ultras and Star Fox team in hot pursuit. Once they got clear of the atmosphere and into space itself, they could see that Andross was true to his word; coming at them numbering in the thousands, if not millions, was a horde of demonic-like entities. Each looking like the same thing that took possession of Fox a year ago, only larger, the swarm of Dark Breed made their way to the planet. It was also then that the Cornerian fleet, somewhat restored after its entanglement with the Seijin armada some time ago, rose from the planet to join the Star Fox team. However, even then the people wondered if there was hope for survival.

"Everyone, we must be strong. Even in the face of total darkness, there is always a light."

"I don't think this is the time for speeches, old man. We're about to be overrun by a bunch of space-demons in a second!" Falco said, on the verge of panic as he saw the horde advancing.

"Then I think it's a good thing, that I called for reinforcements!" Hayata replied. Before anyone could ask, he threw an arm up, and the Ultra Sign, the ones used to send an S.O.S., appeared above them. As if on cue, a white hole opened up, and hundreds of lights descended from it, taking positions between the Star Fox team and Cornerians, and the Dark Breed horde. The lights were the Travel Spheres used by the Ultras, and they were lead by a larger sphere. Then, the spheres turned to other Ultras, each one having an Ultra Bracelet of their own. Then Zoffy, Ultra Seven, Jack, Ace, Taro, And the other Ultra Brothers appeared, their mantles flowing behind them, and that's when the larger Travel Sphere also dissipated, revealing the Father and Mother of Ultra. "I was sent here to do more than simply aide you against Andross. I was also sent to scout the area, and to send the signal back to M78 when the time was right. The time for the final showdown between our two races is about to begin!" Hayata stated when all eyes were on him. The several hundred strong Ultra army, combined with the Cornerian fleet and Star Fox team, stared down the horde, lead by a maniacally laughing Andross.


	43. Into the Breach

Chapter 43

Into the Breach

There are a few moments in his life that Fox felt small in comparison. One was hard entrance exam into the flight academy that he attended before leading the Star Fox team. Another was when he asked Fara out for the first time. And now, in what could be the ultimate battle between good and evil between two universes, Fox McCloud, leader of the Star Fox team, and hero of Lylat, felt small compared to the beings before him. The Dark Breed, entities from a dark dimension, have shown up in full force in the Lylat System, led by the same person who had killed his father, and declared war on Lylat more than a decade ago. Andross made a deal with the Devil, and seems to be enjoying it, floating in front of the horde with a triumphant smile on his simian visage. However, there was something standing in his way; The Ultra race, defenders of another reality, and others, have shown up with their own army to combat this menace. However, they were outnumbered at least hundreds to one. However, even in the face of such overwhelming odds, the Ultra Brothers and Space Garrison knew that any one of their own was worth _at least_ that many. Even the Cornerian fleet rose up from the planet's surface, and had ships from patrolling sectors form ranks behind the Ultras, willing to let the two opposing forces duke it out before becoming involved themselves. However, a Dreadnaught-Class ship named the Great Fox, the home base of the Star Fox team, floated behind the four fighters, who hovered next to the Ultra known as Zenith, also known as Jim, the team's sole Ultra member. Zenith floated alongside his father, Ultraman Hayata, while Zoffy and Taro did likewise. Hayata was the first to break the silence; "Andross, I will tell you this once more; give this foolish venture up. There is no way for you to win this day!" Andross laughed.

"_**You seriously believe that **_**you**_** have a chance at winning? You must be getting senile in your old age, Shodai."**_

"I am quite sane. However, it is _you_ who does not realize the situation that you are in."

"_**How's that?"**_ Andross asked.

"Gorzul has been fighting your influence since you merged with it. In its weakened state, it proved no match for you. However, over time since its awakening from hibernation, it has slowly regained its strength. Even if you had not awakened it, it would have come out of hibernation on its own, and finished what it started. You merely woke it up early, catching it off guard. And now, it yearns to be free. I'd guess that you don't have much time left before it fully absorbs your soul."

"_**Hm hm hm hm. Gorzul may be fighting me, even now, but rest assured that I am able to keep it under my most capable control. The reason why it regained control from me that one time, was because McCloud defeated me over Sauria." **_Fox stiffened when he heard his name. then, Andross seemed to look his way as he spoke. _**"Yes, you remember, don't you Fox? You foiled my plan to resurrect myself, not that I really needed it. The reason why was because I figured that the Krazoa would give me an extra boost of power, while eliminating that girl as well. Gorzul warned me about Krystal, so I devised that little plan to wipe her out, before continuing with my plan of taking the Lylat System, with the help of my new friends here."**_ He gestured to the Dark Breed horde that floated behind him, waiting for his command to be unleashed upon them. The Ultras and Cornerians tensed while the conversation went on. Taro was the next to speak.

"You may have us outnumbered, but just one of us is worth hundreds of those Dark Breed that you seem to be so fond of." the horned son of Father and Mother of Ultra stated. Andross laughed.

"_**They are not like the Kaiju and Seijin that you are used to, Taro."**_ The Warrior of Light stiffened when he heard his name. _**"Yes, I know about you, and about the Space Garrison, and the threat that they would pose. However, I have no reason to be worried. I hold within my grasp, the power to command an entire race. Now, let me show you true power!" **_As if by some unseen signal, the Dark Breed surged forward, passing the still-floating Andross while he laughed maniacally.

"**Warriors of Light, ENGAGE!"** Father of Ultra shouted. At that command, the Ultras flew at the incoming horde, along with Zenith and Hayata. That was when the younger Warrior of Light saw the four fighters fly alongside him, as did Hayata. They stopped, as did the arwings, which turned around to face them.

"Why are you stopping?" Fox asked.

"This is too dangerous for you. Head back with the rest of the ships, and protect the rear, in case the Dark Breed should break through our lines." Hayata ordered.

"As if, pal! We're not going anywhere, except with you guys!" Falco answered, which spoke for the rest of the team. Hayata turned to his son, and both nodded. They raised both of their arms, and twin beams of light shot out that enveloped the fighters.

"What the-" Fox shouted.

"We are sorry to do this, but you leave us no choice." Hayata says as the arwings are being flung back to the fleet.

"I can't let anything happen to you. Not to something like this, when it can be avoided. Please, let us handle it." Zenith adds. Once the fighters are back with the fleet, the pair fly off to join their fellows to engage the Dark Breed. The arwings were floating beside the Great Fox, the team looking out at the raging battle before them.

"Let them handle it, he says." Falco says, almost under his breath. "We freakin' live here, ya know!" the avian shouts at the battle scene before them. That's when the four pilots see an a most unexpected sight; Mebius and Hikari floated up in front of them, with Zoffy just behind them.

"What are you guys doing here?" Mebius asked, "We thought you'd be with Zenith and the others."

"We would, but he and his father sent us back here." Krystal said.

"They said some bull about it being too dangerous for us to handle. Doesn't he know who we are?" Falco adds. Mebius and Hikari look to Zoffy, and he nods to them. They return the gesture and look to the arwings.

"We will take you to the front with us." Hikari states.

"Really?" Fox asked. They nodded.

"We both out-rank Zenith, and Commander Zoffy out-ranks all of us. So, you really have no choice in the matter." the blue Ultra says with a hint of a smile in his voice. That was when the four arwings and three Ultras flew into the chaos in front of them.

The battle was not so much a battle, as it was confusion and chaos. Then again, all battles are like that. The Ultras, who seemed to be hopelessly outnumbered, were putting up a valiant effort in shooting down the Dark Breed in great numbers. The red and blue Warriors of Light's beams sliced through anything in their way, however, the enemy had massive numbers on their side, the demon-like entities letting loose their own volleys at the Ultras. It was quantity versus quality, where light and darkness were pitted against eachother. Hayata, Zenith, Taro, and the other Ultra Brothers were having their fair share of action themselves. Letting loose with their signature attacks, the ten Warriors of Light were in a ring, blasting down Dark Breed left and right. "Storiummu…" Taro powered up his famous finisher, as did Zenith.

"**Meganiummu…"**

"_**KOUSEN!" **_they both shouted. Both rays, one multi-colored and the other golden, struck out at the Dark Breed mass before them, and swept the rays opposite from eachother, with the rest of the Ultra Brothers doing likewise. By what seemed like by the hundreds, the Dark Breed were vaporized into ashes. However, were one was killed, ten more seemed to take its place as the demon-like beings began to close in on them. The Ultra Brothers ceased firing, the toll on their energy was starting to show. "What now, father?" Zenith asked, turning to Hayata. The elder looked at his son, but had no reply. Looking out at the horde before them, and watching as their own numbers were being diminished by the Dark Breed horde, things were starting to look hopeless for them. Then, two rays of light, one golden and the other blue, tore through the Dark Breed that were closing in in front of Zenith and Hayata. The pair looked up, and saw Mebius and Hikari descend, while Zoffy tore through another rank with his M87 Beam. Then, he too took his place beside his subordinates. "Commander!" Zenith exclaimed. His superior regarded him for a moment, then turned back to the horde before them. However, the show wasn't done yet; several explosions erupted from behind the Dark Breed. The demons looked behind them, and were instantly turned to fireballs by several nova bombs. The four arwings flew out of the horde, and then turned around for another strafing run at the horde. Zenith could only float there, shocked at the sight of his friends taking on the nightmarish horde by themselves. After several more of them went down with some more bombs and charged-shots, the four craft took up positions beside Zenith. The Warrior of Light looked at them. "I thought I told you guys to stay back!" he said, irritated.

"And you should know, Zenith, that every being has the right to fight for his and her home." Zoffy replied. Zenith looked at his superior, who nodded at him. Zenith returned the nod, albeit unceremoniously, but Zoffy didn't pay it any mind. He knew that Zenith didn't want to see his friends get hurt or killed out here, but at the same time, they also have been known to save Zenith himself on occasion. However, the biggest concern was whether or not anyone or anything could save them in _this_ particular situation as the Dark Breed closed in on them. The Ultras took up their combat stances and the arwing pilots gripped the controls to their fighters as the army of darkness was getting closer and closer. Then, a laugh pealed through, and Andross himself materialized above the Ultra Brothers.

"_**What now, Star Fox and Zenith? As you can plainly see, your little army is being routed and the Lylat System is now mine for the taking. All I have to do, is just wipe you out from existence, and then I can finally claim what is rightfully mine!"**_

"We won't let that happen, Andross! I stopped you twice, and I'll do it again!" Fox shouted, gunning his arwing at the mad ape.

"_**You honestly think that you are a match for me? This isn't like the last two times that you fought me, Fox. I've grown even stronger since then!"**_ Just when Fox's arwing was a mere hundred meters away from the mad ape, Andross lifted his hand, and the fighter stopped dead in its tracks. That's when the Zenith decided to fly up at the mad ape, and fired his Meganium Beam, followed by volleys from the Star Fox team, and the Ultra Brothers. However, the attacks didn't connect with Andross, as they seemed to be repelled by some unseen barrier. Fox looked around in a sudden panic as alarms on his ship began to go off. Andross continued to smirk as he closed his hand into a fist. Fox looked and saw that his canopy was beginning to crack, and his console began to throw sparks and smoke as his ship was being crushed by an unseen hand. Fox tried almost everything to break free as the arwing was being crumpled up. Zenith tried to reach for him, but his hand only enclosed on an unseen sphere of power, and was knocked away. Andross laughed maniacally as he watched this. _**"Now Fox, you will be erased from this world. The famed Hero of Lylat, defeated by the new Emperor of Lylat. How fitting."**_ His laughing stopped abruptly, and he had a shocked expression. The Dark Breed horde stopped its advance, and looked up at Andross. Fox flew what was left of his arwing away from Andross, and looked up in confusion, as did the others. Andross grasped his head in apparent pain, wailing as if in sheer agony. _**"N-no! I won't…lose control…"**_

"What's going on?" Slippy asked. It was Krystal who answered.

"Gorzul is regaining control." that was when another voice spoke, only it seemed to emanate from everywhere.

"_**You old fool. You thought to control the most powerful force of evil in any realm without a price?"**_

"_**Wh-who?"**_

"_**It is small minds like yours that I really detest. You have no idea the kind of power that you sought to obtain. Such power cannot be given to one such as you so freely. You must give me something in return."**_

"_**NO! I am in control…I am…"**_ With a yell, Andross slumped forward, floating freely in space. Then, he righted himself up, and looked at the Ultras before him, smirking. That's when both Zenith and Krystal felt it. Gorzul was back with a vengeance. The Andross-possessed Gorzul looked at them, arms folded across his chest as the Dark Breed swarmed around him. The Ultra army looked around as the Dark Breed left them together around their ruler. Then, something happened; Andross's face seemed to morph, then fall away, leaving a demonic skull-like visage with green flames dancing. Gorzul laughed, and pointed at the Ultras.

"_**I have waited a long time for this, Ultras. Now that I am free, there is nothing to stop me from taking this reality for my own."**_

"That's where you're wrong, Gorzul! You are still weakened from the exertion of taking over Andross. Even now, anyone of us can take you!" Zenith replied, and flew up at Gorzul. The flaming simian skull leered down at him, and almost appear to smirk.

"_**You want to face me? Very well. Follow me, little Ultra. Follow me if you dare."**_ Gorzul floated away as the Dark Breed horde acted as a shield to block Zenith. However, the Warrior of Light merely plowed through them, followed by the Star Fox team. The arwings blasted away at the demon-like beings, while Zenith blasted away at them, or dispatched them with his bare hands. Then, several beams of light, blue/white and multi-colored, took care of the rest, while the Ultra Brothers routed the horde that surrounded the Ultra and team.

"We'll take care of the small fry. You five strike down Gorzul!" Hayata ordered, turning to face the Ultra and Star Fox. Zenith nodded and pursued Gorzul, followed by the five arwings. Gorzul saw this, and continued to fly farther from them. Then, something that neither expected happened; a white-hole opened up in the direction that Gorzul was flying.

"_**Can you follow me where few have dared?" **_he taunted. Gorzul flew into the white-hole.

"I do not fear the Dark realm, Gorzul! I'll follow you into the pits of Hell itself!" Zenith shouted, pursuing the Dark Breed.

"You're not going in there without us!" Slippy shouted as the fighters followed suit. What happened next, neither of them could have foreseen.

The Ultra Brothers tore through the Dark Breed, blasting the demon-like entities into so much dust. Despite being massively outnumbered, the Ultra Brothers were easily a match for the dark swarm. When the fighting was starting to die down, Hayata chanced a look, and saw his son and his friends enter the white-hole that Gorzul escaped through. He turned to Zoffy. "Sir, this is where I go on ahead." Zoffy turned to him, and nodded, as did the other Ultra Brothers. They felt like, they were never going to see him again, for he had told them of his intentions ahead of time. They resisted it at first, but given the circumstances, they relented. As Hayata flew off after the others into the white-hole, Zoffy said one thing under his breath.

"Good-bye old friend."

They were in the Cross Roads, the never-ending expanse that bridges all of the universes and realities together. The swirl of black and white, while numberless multi-colored ball of light floated everywhere before the five forms. Zenith and the Star Fox team stared out in awe at the sight before them, or rather, most of them did. Zenith looked this way and that, trying to locate his enemy while his friends 'oohhh'd and 'aahhh'd at the sight. "It's…beautiful…" Krystal said, almost mesmerized by the sight. The rest of the team were feeling the same way. Zenith shot forward, turning this way and that, and when he turned to face his teammates, his breath caught in his throat; Gorzul appeared behind them, ready to pounce.

"Guys, behind you!" he shouted, but the warning came too late. Gorzul trapped them in an energy field between his hands, the dark violet aura enveloping them like a net. While they were unharmed, they were unable to move. Zenith clenched his fists, feeling helpless to help his friends. Gorzul laughed, the green-flaming skull opening its maw.

"_**Well, well, well. It would seem that I hold the aces in this match, Zenith. What will you do now, I wonder. Will you sacrifice your friends in order to strike me down, or will you surrender, possibly guaranteeing their safety?" **_Zenith couldn't reply to the taunt. He knew that Gorzul had him pinned down this time around. So, he lowered his arms in apparent defeat.

"Jim, no!" Fox shouted.

"I have no choice, Fox! If I don't then you'll…you'll all be…" Zenith's fists clenched tighter as he spoke. He had not felt this powerless in a while, and he detested it even now.

"Jim, don't worry about us! Just end this guy!" Fox shouted. Zenith looked up as he heard this. "You're not just a Space Garrison member, you're also a member of Star Fox yourself. That means, that you have to do everything in your power to protect the Lylat System, no matter how hard the decision! People rely on us to protect them, especially from scum bags like this guy! So please, get him for us!"

"Fox…" Zenith stood there in apparent silence, while Gorzul laughed.

"_**How touching. Sacrificing yourselves for the greater good. How predictably noble. Well, what's it going to be, Zenith? I haven't got all day you know, despite the fact that we are in a place where space and time virtually have no meaning whatsoever. I have things to do."**_

"What sort of things?" Zenith asked, hoping to stall for time.

"_**I'll tell you. After I'm done with this little charade, I plan to take my brethren and take the universe that you've been protecting as my own. After that, well, use your imagination." **_Zenith took it all in, and seemed to be taken aback by it. _**"Well, it's been fun, but I do have a timetable to keep. Since you can't seem to make up your mind, I'll just do it for you!" **_Gorzul raised a hand at the floating group before them, and was prepared to fire an energy blast.

"You talk too much." Gorzul whirled at the sound of the voice, and was shocked to see Zenith floating right in front of him. The Ultra raised a fist at him, and swung. Gorzul blocked for the incoming blow, reacting on instinct. However, the strike come not from the front, but from the rear. He felt something sear and burn his back, and he gave a pained yell. He turned just in time to get a fist in his flaming skull, knocking him back. He flew back, but was able to regain control, and saw two Zeniths floating in front of the Star Fox team, while the team themselves wore a similiar expression to what Gorzul was feeling. One of the Zeniths laughed, and pointed at Gorzul.

"You fell for one of the oldest tricks in the book. While you were talking, I was able to slip one of my duplicates behind you without you even noticing. You'll have to be a lot sharper than that if you want to defeat me." Just then, one of the Zeniths disappeared, leaving one left. Gorzul felt rage boil over as the red and silver Ultra neutralized the energy field surrounding the team.

"Nice job, Jim." Slippy said. Zenith nodded while the Star Fox team floated beside him.

"How'd you know he'd fall for it?" Fox asked. Zenith shrugged.

"It's a stereotypical thing for villains. They just can't resist gloating." The team laughed a bit at this, then focused on the enraged Gorzul.

"_**You little pissants think that's funny? You hear me laughing?" **_Suddenly, a purple aura glowed around Gorzul's form, like a miasma. He looked up at the five figures, hatred burning in the eye-sockets of its skull. Zenith braced himself as he was forced back by an unseen force by what seemed like a few meters. When he lowered his guard, he could see ruler of the Dark Breed rushing at him. Unable to bring up his guard in time, the red and silver Warrior of Light was tackled by the Dark Breed. Both forms were hurtling through the endless reaches of the Cross Roads, each unable to get the upper hand on the other. Then, they broke away and faced eachother. Both combatants took up a fighting stance while circling eachother. It appeared that they were walking around on some kind of ground, all though none seemed visible. That's when the fight started. Gorzul attacked first, going in with a straight to Zenith's face. The Warrior of Light parried the blow, and came up with an upper-cut, knocking the Dark Breed ruler away from him. However, Gorzul charged forward, intending on slamming his full body-weight against Zenith. Zenith cart-wheeled out of the way, while coming back up and sending a shredding halo at Gorzul. The saw-blade managed to gut Gorzul along the flank as it gave a pained grunt in surprise. It whirled to face Zenith.

"_**Don't get too cocky, boy. I'm only starting."**_

"Oh, I certainly hope so Gorzul. For your sake." Both combatants once more circled eachother, then went at it again, this time Gorzul seemed to be on equal footing with Zenith. Gorzul threw a hay-maker at Zenith, who prepared to parry the blow. However, Gorzul feinted, and sent a side-kick to Zenith's ribs. The red and silver Ultra hadn't counted on the surprise attack, and took the attack in full. He grasped his side in apparent pain as Gorzul sent two jabs to his gut, making him stumble back, while a spin-kick sent him to the 'floor'. Zenith looked up in time to see Gorzul raise its foot, intending on sending it down on Zenith's skull. The Ultra rolled out of the way, and came back up in a fighting stance when the Dark Breed lunged at him, both fighters locking hands in death-grips. Both sent a side-kick his opponent's way, forcing the other to stumble back. Zenith leapt up, and performed a flying kick, which Gorzul evaded by somersaulting forward. Zenith landed just behind the Dark Breed, and Gorzul struck his leg out, sweeping Zenith's out from under him. Zenith fell, and rolled onto his shoulder, coming back up into a fighting stance. However, this gave Gorzul time to recover as well, and renew his attack. Both warriors charge at eachother, the shockwave of the two colliding with eachother sending shockwaves that are felt, even by the pilots inside of the arwings. Gorzul got to his feet, as did Zenith. The Arwings flew in closer, the only thing keeping them from firing on Gorzul is the fear that they might hit Zenith by accident. Both Dark Breed and Ultra continued to circle eachother, like carnivores over a fresh kill, each waiting for an opening. Gorzul laughed.

"_**You don't look so good, Zenith. Perhaps you are not up to snuff like I thought."**_

"I can take anything you can dish out, Gorzul. Perhaps it is you who is not as I expected."

"_**What?"**_

"I figured you would be a lot stronger than this. However, like my father said, freeing yourself from Andross has left you drained. Right now, you and I are about equal strength." Gorzul dropped his guard, as did Zenith as both combatants looked at eachother.

"_**I see…it appears that you are right. I should have destroyed you long before now…"**_ Gorzul clenched its fists, then looked up, the glow in its eyes intensifying. _**"Fortunately, I have a back-up plan!" **_Gorzul raised both of its arms at Zenith, and twin rings of purple energy flew from them, and before Zenith could react, they wrapped around his body.

"What the…"

"_**Ha ha ha! You're trapped now, Zenith! And now I get to do to you, what I've been wanting to do to your father!" **_Zenith struggled against his bonds, as what looked like a wormhole opened up behind the Dark Breed. Zenith saw this, and gasped. _**"Your father sealed me away, with the help of the infernal Ultra Brothers. I planned on giving your father a taste of his own medicine, right after I get done with you. Go spend an eternity in Hell!" **_Tendrils of shadow shot out of the wormhole and wrapped around Zenith, slowly dragging him into the rift in space/time. The Ultra struggled against his bonds, but to no avail. Just then, several emerald bolts shot out from Gorzul's left, striking the tendrils. Gorzul turned and saw the arwings descend upon him and unleash their fury with lasers and charged shots, their nova bombs already having been spent. The bolts of green along red lanced across Gorzul's frame as he blocked against them. It provided Zenith enough time to break free from his bonds and tendrils, and focus on Gorzul. While the Dark Breed was focusing on the arwings, he failed to notice the silvery fist on a collision course with his face. The blow sent Gorzul flying, but he righted himself up, and faced the Ultra and Star Fox team. However, Gorzul wasn't done. Gorzul rushed at Zenith, and tackled him, sending both into the worm hole that the Dark Breed created. It closed up behind them, and winked out of existence. It was then that Krystal found her voice.

"JIIMMM!" However, for a reply, there was none.

In the Dark Realm, both Ultra and Dark Breed tumbled through, until they landed on solid ground. They separated just before impact, and Zenith landed on his feet, as did Gorzul. The red and silver Ultra looked around, taking in the scene: Dark storm clouds covered them from overhead while lightning danced around while thunder sang its song. As Zenith looked around him, Gorzul pointed and laughed.

"_**What now, Zenith? You are in my world, cut off from your friends and with no hope of escape. This is where you will die, your grave right here in the Dark Realm!"**_ Zenith turned to face Gorzul, and rushed at him. However, the Dark Breed merely lifted up his hand, and Zenith stopped in mid-step, his arms at his sides as if he were being held by invisible bonds. Gorzul pushed back, and Zenith was sent flying. The red and silver Ultra got back up, and leapt at Gorzul ending in a flying kick right at the skull. Only, the attack never landed. Gorzul raised his hand up, and Zenith crashed into the ground. He got back to his feet, albeit uneasily, and fired his Meganium Kousen, but the golden beam was deflected off of an unseen barrier. Zenith was shocked by this, while Gorzul laughed heartily. The Ultra's warning light began to blink. _**"What's wrong Zenith? Getting a little worn? Here in the Dark Realm, you are separated from your friends. While your power does come from solar radiation, you also rely on your friends to give you the strength you need to keep fighting. Separated from them like this cuts your power in half. You are now a powerless Ultraman!"**_ Zenith took up his combat stance against Gorzul, who continued to laugh. Then, Gorzul raised a hand, and a purple beam shot out, striking Zenith. The Ultra was sent flying back. He landed upon the ground, and lost consciousness.

Back in the Cross Roads, Krystal could feel something, but couldn't discern what it was. All she could do, was stare at the spot where Zenith and Gorzul had entered into the Dark Realm, unable to do anything. She couldn't feel him, like the time he went to the Land of Light for recovery. Tears starting to come down, and she turned away from the spot, unable to look anymore. Just then, another wormhole opened up. Krystal felt her heart leap when she saw it, but felt a little bit less jovial when she saw it was Hayata who came through, not Zenith. However, seeing him here does bring some sort of comfort, oddly enough. "Where is Zenith?" he asked. It was Fox who answered.

"He and Gorzul flew into some sort of wormhole. That's the last we saw of them." Hayata looked at them, then nodded in understanding. He looked at the area where the arwings were facing.

"Is that where the Gate Way was activated?" he asked.

"Yes."

"Alright." he said. His form began to glow brightly, until it looked like he was a living luminescence. Then, he thrusted his arms out with a shout, and twin beams of light shot out of his arms. They converged on the spot where the wormhole opened, and a new one opened up. The team was shocked by this, until Hayata spoke again. "Now, call to him. Let him know that you are here for him." Krystal reached out with her mind, hoping to reach him. In the Dark Realm, Zenith was still unconscious as Gorzul stood over him, laughing like a mad man. Zenith, however, was in another place. Inside the void, there was nothing but darkness as Jim floated in it, totally unaware of where he his. Then, he hears a voice, calling his name. His eyes snap open, and he turns his head. He is surprised to see Krystal floating next to him, smiling.

"K-Krystal.." he says finally.

"Come on, Jim. It's time to come home." she says, holding out her hand ton him. Jim looks away.

"How can I come home. I'm trapped in the Dark Realm."

"It doesn't matter. With us, you can break free and come back to us, to me, where you belong." she replies. Jim looks back at the vixen. Her smile never left her muzzle. Jim looks at her hand, and takes it. Instantly, he feels a warmth spread through his body as the darkness was suddenly lit up by a brilliant luminescence of red and blue. In the Cross Roads, Krystal's arwing glowed blue, then died. Fox looked over, and saw that her cockpit was empty.

"Hey! Where's Krystal at?" he nearly shouted. The others looked too, as did Hayata, who reassured them;

"Do not worry. She is where she wants to be, where she is supposed to be." Fox looks up at the red and silver giant, who nods reassuringly at him, and he returns it, looking back at the Gate Way swirling before them.

In the Dark Realm, Gorzul looked away from the limo form of Zenith to look up at the swirling clouds above him._** "At last, I have finally killed the one who was destined to kill me! The prophecy was a farce! A FARCE! Ha ha ha!" **_That was when he noticed it. A type of glow was coming from behind him, and he turned and saw it was coming from Zenith himself. To his great Shock, Zenith stood up once more, the glow still coming from him. _**"What?" **_he shouts as Zenith is standing before him, glowing like a red and blue sun.

"**Gorzul, I am never separated from my friends! Their power flows through me, and I will use that power to defeat you!"**Zenith shouts in a voice that is not his, but sounds like a mix of his, and a girl's voice as well. Then, the glow intensified, and a multi-colored beam erupted from his form and impacted against Gorzul, who was swallowed up in the light. Suddenly, a great tremor shook the ground that Zenith was standing, and the ground split open, revealing licking flames from the world's interior. That was when Zenith decided to escape. He flew up high and fast. The swirling Gate Way shone clearly in space as the planet beneath him crumbled into dust and fragments. Zenith shot through the Gate Way, and was met with Hayata and co. He stopped just in front of them, and his form lost its glow as Krystal re-materialized in her arwing. She opened her emerald eyes, looking as though she had been asleep. Zenith turned to Hayata, who clasped his son on the shoulders.

"Well done Zenith. You have just defeated the evil that our kind has not been able to defeat. Because of that, countless worlds have been saved."

"Thank you, father."

"I'd prefer, if you didn't call me that."

"What do you mean?" Zenith asked. Hayata turned away, and looked out at the countless realities before him, twinkling like stars.

"I lost the right to call you my son when Gorzul stole you from me. I didn't help raise you. That was done by a human family in your home reality. I no longer have any right to be your father." He turned to face Zenith, his voice sounding like it was breaking. "All I ever wanted was to raise you, Zenith. However, I may have a shot at that. I have already put in a request to Father of Ultra, and he gave me the Okay."

"Okay for what?"

"My retirement." Zenith was surprised to hear this. His father, the legendary Ultraman Hayata, who had been the first Ultraman to show up on Earth, was retiring? "I have made up my mind, and Father of Ultra said it would be alright for me to retire from the force. Besides, it's in good hands, as I can see." Hayata grabbed Zenith's shoulders tightly, and embraced him. "Even if I did not raise you fully myself, I want you to know that I have never been more proud of you."

"F-father…" Zenith was getting a little choked up himself. Hayata broke away from him, and floated away. "W-wait!" Hayata froze in mid flight. "He's still out there, isn't he? Gorzul I mean."

"Yes. Although he has been beaten this day, he will come back one day to get revenge on you and Krystal. Although, with the amount of damage he received, that day is still quite a ways off." Zenith nodded, as did his father.

"Where will you go?" he asked. Hayata chuckled at this.

"Xetulu and I have found a prime reality for us to retire to. Since Gorzul doesn't exist in that reality, and that it bears a striking resemblance to the one that you are in, well…" he shrugged, and Zenith got the idea: an alternate reality. Krystal stiffened when she heard her father's name mentioned. "Take care, Patrolman Zenith." With that said, Hayata flew off into the Cross Roads, heading for a destination that only he knew about. Zenith continued to look out at the place where he left, feeling himself smile on the inside.

"Good bye…father…"

In the Lylat System, the Ultras and Cornerian Fleet had been anxiously waiting for what seemed like an eternity. However, when the Gate Way opened up, and the four arwings and one Ultra appeared, they breathed a collective sigh of relief, especially Peppy hare on the Great Fox. Zenith went to join his fellows, while the Star Fox team held back. Zenith told Zoffy what had happened to his father. His superior merely nodded, and spoke.

"It would seem that he has finally achieved what he has always wanted. We were all against it, at first, but then we relented when we found out his true intentions."

"True intentions?"

"To raise you, like he always wanted." Zenith nodded. "We leave the Lylat system in your capable hands, Zenith. I will be expecting a full and formal report on this soon, though not too soon. Be sure to take some time off and relax. You've earned it." With that, all the Ultras headed back home to the Land of Light. Zenith turned to the Star Fox team.

"My friends, shall we go home?" he asked. They nodded, smiling broadly. Then, they made their way to the shining blue planet of the Lylat System.

Epilogue: He doesn't know where he is, or how he got there, all he knows is that he is being led through some alien forest by what looks like a blue fox-kit. When he reached the village, his breath was taken away; it was huge, containing hundreds of structures and people, all looking like the kit that led him to a large structure in the center of the village. The people all stared at him, like he were some oddity out of a science-fiction novel. The structure that he was being led to had several spires coming out of the roof, like a great church or cathedral. Inside, were several giant marble statues of fox-like characters, all wearing different apparel. However, it wasn't these that he was fixated on, but rather at what was in front of him; three figures stood in the center of the room. Two were vulpine, one wearing a robe, the other wearing a tunic and pants. The one with the tunic turned to the robed figure. "You may go now, Randorn. I believe that your daughter doesn't like it that I keep you here so late." he said, smiling. Randorn smiled, and replied.

"Nor does my wife, Athena. We both know not to get on _her_ bad side." Both of them laughed heartily, while the third figure smiled. It was this particular person that he was focusing on. He was a human, or human-like, wearing a black vest, tan tunic and pants with a belt and black boots, while wearing a red and silver mantle. He looked like he was about thirty or so, and he smiled at him. The boy rushed up to him, shouting "Father!" Hayata knelt down, and embraced the blonde-haired boy, who was wearing a similar outfit compared to him.

"Zenith. I trust that you got here alright?" Hayata asked. Zenith nodded, his blonde hair waving slightly. He turned to the vulpine next to him. "When can his training begin?"

"Right away, if you wish." he replied, smiling a bit himself.

"I'd prefer to wait a bit. After all, it is a new world that he is on."

"Of course." The vulpine turned to the girl. "Daughter, please be so kind to escort the boy to our home. He will be staying with us, and his father. Your mother already knows about their coming."

"Of course, father!" the kit says, enthusiastically. She practically dragged the human boy out of the building, and to her home, while both figures laughed heartily.

"Will your daughter ever change, Xetulu?" Hayata asked when he saw the kit and boy gone, the boy trying to keep up with the kit.

"No Hayata. I don't think she will, either of them. In this world, or the next." With that said, both figures followed the kit and boy home.

And so, a new journey begins…


End file.
